CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the running costs of the Government Communications Network were in each year since its establishment; and what the forecasted expenditure is for 2005–06.

Jim Murphy: The Government Communication Network (GCN) was established in 2005 and is a professional network to which everyone who works in communication in Government can belong. Therefore it has no running costs.
	I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 201W, which gives details of the running costs for the Government communication group which supports the GCN.

Fair Trade

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on the procurement of Fair Trade produce for consumption on its premises;
	(2)  how much and what proportion of his Department's catering budget was spent on Fair Trade produce in the last period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how much and what proportion of his Department's catering budget for (a) Cabinet meetings and (b) Cabinet committees was spent on Fair Trade produce in the last period for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: It is Cabinet Office policy to purchase on the basis of value for money. We encourage our contracted catering providers to purchase Fair Trade products where commercially practicable and viable. Spending on Fair Trade produce is not separately identified. The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Government Communications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 666W, on Government communications, if he will list the Departments to which the Permanent Secretary, Government Communications has given advice since his appointment; if he will place in the Library documents the Permanent Secretary has issued to Government Departments since his appointment; and what (a) speeches and (b) presentations he has given since his appointment.

Jim Murphy: The role of the Permanent Secretary, Government Communication is to modernise Government communication by ensuring that it responds to the opportunities and challenges of the modern media environment (including new ways of reaching and engaging the public), while upholding the highest standards of propriety.
	There are three main work streams: strategic communication and marketing; cross departmental co-ordination and professional development and standards.
	As part of this remit the Permanent Secretary gives advice to Departments as and when needed. Information relating to internal advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion and advice.
	Documents, speeches and presentations have been placed in the Library of the House.

Government Communications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 666W, on Government communications, what the recruitment processes were for the posts of the (a) No. 10 director of communications and (b) special adviser without executive powers and official spokesman; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Civil servants are recruited on merit through fair and open competition in accordance with the recruitment rules of the civil service commissioners. Special advisers are exempt from this process in accordance with the Civil Service Order in Council.

Minister without Portfolio

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the official duties of the Minister without Portfolio for each day in January 2006.

Jim Murphy: The official duties of the Minister without Portfolio include the formulation and development of Government policy and attending meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. He attends Cabinet and contributes to decisions taken by Cabinet and its sub-committees.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Members' Voting Rights

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the voting rights of hon. Members representing constituencies outside England on matters relating exclusively to England.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Windsor earlier today.

Victims' Special Advocates

Ann Coffey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she plans to introduce victims' special advocates.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects the pilot schemes for victims' special advocates to begin.

Harriet Harman: The Government will pilot the victims' advocates scheme in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Winchester from April this year. Under the scheme relatives of murder and manslaughter victims will have the opportunity to make an oral statement in court on the effect of the crime.

Postal Voting (Fraud)

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps are being taken to reduce fraud in postal voting in elections.

Harriet Harman: The Government will today introduce into the House of Commons regulations to prevent postal vote fraud. These regulations will be implemented in time for the May 2006 local elections. In addition, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Electoral Commission have issued new guidance for police forces on the prevention and detection of electoral fraud.

Claims Handlers

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what organisation she intends to select to regulate claims handlers.

Bridget Prentice: The Compensation Bill provides a power to designate or set up a Regulator to ensure we have maximum flexibility to safeguard consumer interests. It also allows the Secretary of State to regulate directly if necessary.
	My noble Friend Baroness Ashton of Upholland will be announcing further details on the Government's proposed approach at Report Stage in the House of Lords.

House of Lords

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects to bring forward proposals for a Joint Committee to examine the powers and procedures of the House of Lords.

Harriet Harman: Our plans include clarifying the powers of the House of Lords to entrench the primacy of this House. We are committed to establishing a Joint Committee of the two Houses to consider and codify the powers of the House of Lords and I trust we shall be able to proceed with the establishment of the Joint Committee as soon as possible.

Electoral Registration

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the likely change in the number of people registered to vote in England between the 2005 general election and the 2006 local elections.

Harriet Harman: According to the Office for National Statistics (based upon figures compiled the preceding 1 December) the number of people registered to vote in England at the 2005 general election was 37,043,600 while the number registered to vote at the 2006 local elections will be 37,655,524.

Electoral Registration

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of levels of electoral registration in Gateshead, East and Washington, West.

Harriet Harman: Between 2001–03 there was a sustained decline in the number of voters registered. In my hon. Friend's constituency the figures were as follows for the period 1 December 2001 to 1 December 2005:
	
		
			 As at December each year Number 
		
		
			 2001 64,074 
			 2002 63,239 
			 2003 62,134 
			 2004 61,705 
			 2005 61,531 
		
	
	This contrasts with the national figures for the 2005 canvass of electors which were published by the Office for National Statistics on 23 February and reveal that for the second successive year there has been an increase in the number of electors registered in the UK as a whole and England in particular.

Civil Servants

Mark Francois: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent in each year since 1997 by the Department on salaries paid to civil servants.

Bridget Prentice: The amount spent by the Department on salaries paid to civil servants in each year since 1998 is shown in the following table.
	The expenditure for 1997 is not readily available as the Department had not yet started preparing formal resource accounts. In terms of providing the expenditure on a cash basis, this would involve a disproportionate amount of effort as the resource accounts are prepared on an accruals basis.
	
		
			  Civil servants excluding bonuses (£) Budget total (£) Percentage 
		
		
			 1997–98 — — — 
			 1998–99 160,338 646,915 25 
			 1999–2000 150,631 773,483 19 
			 2000–01 158,747 849,331 19 
			 2001–02 153,814 902,703 17 
			 2002–03 183,229 995,702 18 
			 2003–04 198,606 1,056,187 19 
			 2004–05 209,658 1,199,118 18 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The salaries data was extracted from the Resource Accounts for the years 1998–99 to 2004–05 while the budget data came from the Department Report for 2003–04 and 2004–05.
	2. The budget figures have been adjusted for machinery of government changes back to 1998–99.
	3. The budget total includes voted resource DEL and judicial salaries paid from the Consolidated Fund.

Legal Services Commission

Charles Walker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research her Department has undertaken into the likely impact of the Legal Services Commission's decision to withdraw specialist funding from third party charities and organisations on the provision of support and advice services to the general public; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Research undertaken by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) which underpins their consultation paper "Making legal rights a reality" points to an increasing demand for front line advice for the most needy.
	Specialist support contracts give advice to providers, not directly to clients. The decision to withdraw funding for specialist support services will mean that £2.3 million will be redirected to fund about 9,000 opportunities for people to get direct legal advice in the next financial year. This will increase access to legal aid services for vulnerable people.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Casinos

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire of 8 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1294–96W, on casinos, if she will list the local authorities which have made representations in support of the number of regional casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005.

Richard Caborn: We have no record that any local authority has made representations in support of the Gambling Act 2005 permitting one regional casino.

Casinos

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the locations of bids submitted to the Casino Advisory Panel for (a) (i) small, (ii) large and (iii) regional casino licences and (b) combinations thereof.

Richard Caborn: The closing date for formal proposals to the Casino Advisory Panel is 31 March 2006. By 27 February 2006, no proposals had been received.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel are in Helmand; and what their mission is.

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the mission statement is for British troops sent to Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Members to the Statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 1530–49. We have started the initial deployments in support of some 3,300 who will deploy to Southern Afghanistan over the coming months. The numbers will steadily increase until they are fully operational in July this year.
	For reasons of operational security, details of the specific numbers and locations of United Kingdom troops during the early stages of deployment is being withheld.

Munitions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much ammunition is being stored by UK forces; and how much has been supplied from overseas companies.

Adam Ingram: Information on the nature of ammunition held in storage is classified and as such is withheld as disclosure would not be in the national interest.

Munitions

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the UK's anti-structures munition to enter service; and what measures he has put in place to guarantee security of supply.

Adam Ingram: My statement of 6 February announced the award of a contract for the demonstration and manufacture of the anti-structures munition (ASM). I wish to clarify that the £40 million it refers to is the value of the entire project. ASM is planned to enter service by the end of 2010. We have addressed security of supply by contracting for a lifetime buy.

Complex Weapons

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to increase investment in complex weapons systems.

Adam Ingram: Investment plans for complex weapons systems are detailed in the Defence Industrial Strategy (section B7, paragraph 26) a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Homelessness (Armed Forces Personnel)

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former members of the armed forces have been designated as homeless in (a) Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) the UK in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation in England is collected in respect of households, rather than persons, and distinguishes the number accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category. Following extensions to these categories in July 2002, persons vulnerable as a result of having served in Her Majesty's regular armed forces have a priority need for accommodation, and the number accepted where this was the determining factor are separately identified. Information reported by local authorities in Bedfordshire, the East of England and England in each year or part year since 2002 is presented in the table.
	These figures will not necessarily represent all cases of homelessness involving ex-forces personnel, as some may be concealed within other main priority need categories—such as households with dependent children, or an expectant mother.
	For corresponding information in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland I refer the hon. Member to the Secretaries of States for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	
		Statutory Homelessness: Local authority acceptances(1) where the main category of priority need was reported as "Vulnerability as a result of having served in HM Forces"
		
			  Bedfordshire East of England England 
		
		
			 2002 (August to December) 0 11 38 
			 2003 1 9 97 
			 2004 0 7 97 
			 2005 (January to September) 1 3 60 
		
	
	(1) Households accepted by the local authority as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need and therefore owed a main homelessness duty.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)

Homelessness (Armed Forces Personnel)

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of ex-servicemen who are homeless.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on 27 February 2006 (question 49184), and to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 27 February 2006 (question 49775).

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it was his Department's policy following the cessation of major hostilities in Iraq to encourage members of the Badr Corps and Badr Organisation to join the Iraqi security forces.

John Reid: holding answer 14 February 2006
	Following the end of the conflict in Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority sought to re-integrate militia members into civil society. This process included members of the Badr Organisation, formerly known as the Badr Corps, among others.

Iraq

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with United States officials about the withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq.

John Reid: We hold regular discussions with our coalition partners, including the United States, about our progress in Iraq. We have made it clear during these discussions, as I have also made clear to the House, that any United Kingdom handover will be conditions-based and will not be driven by arbitrary timetables.

Military Support (United States)

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the likely implications for the UK of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review by the US Department of Defense;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions in the Department of Defense's 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review to overhaul "export control activities" and "providing advanced military technologies to foreign allies and partners" on technology transfer from the US to the UK; and what consultations he has had with his US counterparts on the matter.

John Reid: We welcome the United States' early consultation and engagement with the United Kingdom during the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) process. We are particularly pleased with the emphasis the QDR gives to working with allies and partners to resolve international security issues and the recognition that Defence is only one part of a range of responses. Given this increased emphasis on continuing to work closely and effectively with allies, the overall impact on UK Defence Policy as set out in the Defence White Paper (Cm6041-I) is limited.
	We also welcome the emphasis that the QDR places on the need to overhaul US export control regulations and the focus on technology sharing. Discussions with Department of Defense Officials and other representatives of the US Government are ongoing with the principal aim of achieving enhanced interoperability of UK and US armed forces.

Missile Defence

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations his Department has received from the United States regarding missile defence in each of the last three years.

John Reid: Officials work closely with the US on joint technology programmes and to further our understanding of the US ballistic missile defence system. Representations to and from the US relating to information exchange and other matters therefore arise on a daily basis and are too numerous to list.

NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution his Department is making in the establishment of a NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre.

John Reid: The UK, as host nation, plans to provide three personnel for the Intelligence Fusion Centre, which will be located at RAF Molesworth. RAF Molesworth is currently made available to the United States Visiting Force under the terms of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, 1951.

Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with (a) officials and (b) commanders of UK forces on the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has had no discussions with either officials or commanders of UK forces about the Pingat Jasa Malaysia, which is a commemorative medal instituted by the Malaysian Government for service between August 1957 and August 1966.
	On behalf of the Government, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for administering the policy relating to the acceptance and wear of non-British awards by British citizens.

Portsmouth Harbour

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the plans are for rebuilding the Up Harbour Ammunitioning Facility in Portsmouth Harbour.

Adam Ingram: Options are currently being assessed for rebuilding the Upper Harbour Ammunitioning Facility in Portsmouth, so that it will be capable of supporting the Type 45 destroyer and other classes of ships up to 10,000 tonnes. On current plans this facility will be in place for loading ammunition on the first Type 45 destroyer, HMS Daring, in October 2008.

QinetiQ

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will post on his website copies of the documents listed at paragraph 26 page 317 of the QinetiQ offer document.

John Reid: Copies of the documents listed at paragraph 26 page 317 of the QinetiQ IPO Prospectus were made available for anyone who wished to view them prior to closure of the IPO at the offices of QinetiQ's lawyers as detailed in the Prospectus. Further information about these documents is a matter for the company and questions should be referred to the Chief Executive at the following address:
	Graham Love
	Chief Executive
	QinetiQ Limited
	Cody Technology Park
	Building Al
	Ively Road
	Farnborough
	Hampshire GU14 OLX

Tanker Aircraft

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft from the Royal Air Force's air-to-air refuelling fleet are unserviceable.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 818W to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox). The position for the Tristar and VC 10 fleet is unchanged.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

John Reid: More than three quarters of the planned savings are to be cashable. All these savings will be re-invested in the department's budget, in line with the Defence priorities set out in Future Capabilities Command Paper, published in July 2004, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Type 45 Destroyer

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the Type 45 Destroyer programme was as at 31 March of financial years 2000–01 to 2004–05, broken down by (a) indirect resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL), (b) direct resource DEL and (c) capital DEL.

Adam Ingram: The forecast cost of the Type 45 Destroyer programme as at the end of financial years 2002 to 2005, are as reported in the respective Major Projects Report (MPR) 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. The breakdown into indirect resource expenditure (I-RDEL), direct resource expenditure (R-DEL) and capital expenditure (CDEL) is as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			 Major project report R-DEL I-RDEL CDEL Total 
		
		
			 2002 234 — 5,045 5,279 
			 2003 23 876 4,647 5,546 
			 2004 46 646 5,136 5,828 
			 2005 42 820 5,034 5,896 
		
	
	For the financial year ending 31 March 2001, only the total forecast cost of £5,250 million is available. MPR2002 was the first National Audit Office report of forecast Type 45 expenditure post main gate approval. At MPR 2002, the RDEL was overstated and I-RDEL was omitted. Both of these errors were corrected in MPR2003. From MPR2004 onwards, the I-RDEL figure was adjusted in agreement with the National Audit Office to take into account the Treasury change to the rate of interest on capital from 6 per cent. to 3.5 per cent.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the licensing and distribution of United Kingdom Hydrographic Office products.

Don Touhig: The licensing and distribution of United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) products are carried out by a variety of means.
	Many companies, under licence from the Ministry of Defence, publish material that has come from MOD material. This material will usually have an acknowledgement to the Crown, to the MOD or to the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). It is protected by Crown copyright and the copyright of the publisher.
	The UKHO's licensing policy has been accredited by Office of Public Sector Information's Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS). IFTS accreditation provides external validation of an organisation's information trading activity. It reassures users that an accredited organisation's processes and policies are compliant and consistent with Government policy on information trading and that they meet the needs of existing or potential customers. The UKHO chief executive has made a personal commitment to make sure that the UKHO trades fairly in information.
	The UKHO strictly follows a system of open trading that meets the requirements of all applicable laws and regulations (including competition law and the recent Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations), and of UK Government policy. The aim is to, in principle, meet the needs of anyone who applies for a licence to re-use information for any purpose. Any exceptions are published on the website.
	Further information on this can be found at www.ukho.gov.uk in the Products and Services and Copyright Licensing sections.
	The distribution of UKHO products is effected through a worldwide network of accredited distributors.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the price of United Kingdom Hydrographic Office products is (a) determined and (b) regulated.

Don Touhig: UKHO product prices are determined by balancing economic factors, operational costs and efficiencies, underlying inflation and market forces. HM Treasury guidelines are also followed. Aside from the application of HM Treasury guidelines, pricing policy is subject to the same regulatory regime applicable to undertakings in general.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance his Department has given the UK Hydrographic Office regarding the commercial and competitive impact of the purchase of SevenCs on competition in the marine data sector.

Don Touhig: The UKHO is the competent agency within the MOD to assess these issues. Guidance from wider MOD was therefore not sought.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's policy regarding competition between the UK Hydrographic Office and companies it licenses to distribute its marine data.

Don Touhig: The UKHO's licensing policy has been accredited by the Office of Public Sector Information's Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS). IFTS accreditation provides external validation of an organisation's information trading activity. It reassures users that an accredited organisation's processes and policies are compliant and consistent with Government policy on information trading and that they meet the needs of existing or potential customers. The chief executive of the UKHO has made a personal commitment to make sure we trade fairly in information.
	Further information can be found on the website www.ukho.gov.uk by following the link to Copyright Licensing.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2006, Official Report, column 514W, on SevenCs, what assessment was made of the digital navigation product market prior to the acquisition of SevenCs by the UK Hydrographic Office.

Don Touhig: The UKHO continually monitors the digital navigation product market and keeps abreast of its state and developments within it. It was not necessary to undertake any special assessment prior to the acquisition.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2006, Official Report, column 514W, on SevenCs, how the UK Hydrographic Office's acquisition of SevenCs will safeguard an open system which does not tie end-users to a particular brand of data.

Don Touhig: The UKHO can, by owning SevenCs, ensure that SevenCs' software systems remain open to non-proprietary data.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2006, Official Report, column 514W, on SevenCs, what assessment he has made of the UK Hydrographic Office's responsibilities under the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea to safeguard an open system.

Don Touhig: The UK's obligation under the Convention is to make available data that meet the Convention's carriage requirements, so enabling the mariner to comply with the regulations applicable to UK waters and to UK-flagged shipping. This is best achieved where open systems exist.

UKHO

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2006, Official Report, column 513W, on SevenCs, what assessment (a) was made of the barriers to an invigorated market in the development of digital navigation products prior to the acquisition of SevenCs by the UKHO and (b) has been made of the effect of the acquisition of SevenCs on the development of digital navigation products; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: Prior to acquisition no barriers to such a market were perceived.
	The transfer of ownership of SevenCs has had little or no effect to date on UKHO product development. I cannot comment on development of products by other organizations.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the development of technologies involved in (a) locating fissile material and (b) tracking weapons of mass destruction.

John Reid: The Ministry of Defence is engaged in a number of research activities which address the detection, identification and tracking of all aspects of weapons of mass destruction development and delivery. Many of these programmes are cross-government and/or international in nature and continue to draw on the full breadth of technologies presently available or under development, combined with the capabilities of world-leading laboratories with whom we routinely collaborate.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Firefighters' Pension Scheme

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the annual cost of the Firefighters' Pensions Scheme was in each of the last five financial years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 13 February 2006
	Estimates for the annual cost of the Firefighters' Pensions Scheme, the number of firefighters receiving a firefighters pension and the number of serving firefighters in England for each of the last five financial years have been tabled as follows.
	
		
			  £000 Firefighters receiving firefighters' pension at 31 March Number of serving firefighters at 31 March(2) 
		
		
			 2000–01 97,357 27,231 31,597 
			 2001–02 115,851 30,160 31,592 
			 2002–03 164,280 31,225 31,614 
			 2003–04 191,978 31,625 31,856 
			 2004–05 260,583 32,977 31,039 
		
	
	(2) The number of serving firefighters does not include retained, non-uniformed or fire control staff, who are not entitled to membership of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme. Figures for 2004–05 are provisional.
	Source:
	Subjective Analysis Returns (SAR) submitted by local authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Fire and Rescue Service Statistics publications, ODPM Fire and Rescue annual returns.
	The SAR is a sample survey and collects information from 121 authorities in England. The data have been grossed up to provide estimates for England as a whole.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in responsibilities and the method of reporting the information. In particular, the financial data for 2000–01 to 2002–03 are presented on a non-financial reporting standard 17 (FRS 17) basis while the data for 2003–04 and 2004–05 are presented on a FRS 17 basis. Hence, figures for different years may not be directly comparable.

Flooding

Mark Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the consultation on changes to Planning Policy Guidance 25 relating to flood prevention and protection.

Yvette Cooper: On 5 December 2005 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published for consultation the draft new PPS25 which clarifies and strengthens planning policy on development and flood risk. The consultation also includes proposals to make the Environment Agency a statutory consultee for non-householder planning applications in flood risk areas, and for a "Flooding Direction" to provide greater scrutiny for major developments proposed in them against the Agency's advice. The consultation closes on 28 February 2006.

Homelessness

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of the number of homeless people who are former personnel of the emergency services.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on 27 February 2006 (question 49184), and to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 27 February 2006 (question 49775).

Homelessness

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) homeless people and (b) people in temporary accommodation there are in each London borough.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on 23 February 2006 (question 50331).

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to ensure that part L of the Building Regulations encourages the greater use of renewable energy systems in the built environment.

Yvette Cooper: Part L of the Building Regulations sets levels for energy performance in ways that offer designers the flexibility to choose solutions that best meet their needs, are cost-effective and practical, and enable innovation. Without prescribing solutions this enables builders to take up the benefits of renewable energy systems.
	In September 2005, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced further improvements to these energy efficiency requirements that will come into effect in April 2006 and will encourage greater take-up of renewable and other low and zero carbon systems.
	To help designers, ODPM is publishing a Low and Zero Carbon Guide alongside the part L changes to highlight the contribution that these technologies can make to overall energy performance.

Wind Turbines

Hywel Francis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria his Department applies to applications for the siting of wind turbines in (a) national parks and (b) areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Yvette Cooper: The Government's national policies for planning for renewable energy are set out in Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy (PPS22). PPS22 states that in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other nationally designated sites, planning permission for renewable energy projects should only be granted where it can be demonstrated that the objectives of designation of the area will not be compromised by the development, and any significant adverse effect on the qualities for which the area has been designated are clearly outweighed by the environmental, social and economic benefits. Planning authorities should have regard to this guidance when they prepare their criteria-based local development document policies and take it into account when determining planning applications.
	Further good practice advice for local authorities on the development control issues which these planning applications raise is set out in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Companion Guide to PPS22.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Class Sizes

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size was in (a) Bath and (b) North East Somerset in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Metrica

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what services the media evaluation firm Metrica has provided to her Department in the past two years; and at what cost.

Bill Rammell: In the past two years Metrica has provided the Department with media evaluation of communications campaigns on Adult Basic Skills, Aimhigher, Aimhigher Student Finance, Beat Bullying, Education Maintenance Allowances and Foundation Degrees; of a partnership with Mersey TV; and of the White Paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All" It has also provided media evaluation of the National Teenage Pregnancy campaign as part of a contract with a public relations agency. The total cost of these projects in financial years 2004/05 and 2005/06 (to date) was £58.972.74, excluding VAT.

Ministerial Meetings

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she last met her counterparts from other EU states; and what was discussed.

Bill Rammell: The last meeting of EU Education Ministers was held on 15 November 2005 in Brussels and was chaired by the Secretary of State. I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement given to the House on 21 November 2005, Official Report, columns 101–02WS.

School Meals

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils received free school meals in each school in Boston and Skegness constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The table shows information on free school meals taken as well as pupils known to be eligible for free schools meals.
	Two sets of figures relating to the number and proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are given here. The first includes all pupils in the school, regardless of their age. The second includes full time pupils aged up to (and including) 15 and part time pupils aged five to 15 (inclusive). This second coverage is as used in the Pupil Achievement Tracker and Ofsted's PANDA reports and provides consistent school level comparisons.
	
		Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools and pupil referral units: School meal arrangements—as at January 2005—Boston and Skegness parliamentary constituency
		
			All pupils(3) 
			 urn Establishment number Establishment name Number on roll Number of pupils taking free school meals(4) Percentage of pupils taking free school meals Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
		
		
			 120367 1101 The Willows Centre 11 8 72.7 8 72.7 
			 120368 1102 The Chestnuts Pupil Referral Unit 24 3 12.5 8 33.3 
			 120405 2076 Toftstead Primary School 44 8 18.2 8 18.2 
			 120415 2094 Kirton Primary School 429 16 3.7 16 3.7 
			 120424 2113 Hawthorn Tree School 258 3 1.2 3 1.2 
			 120426 2116 Boston West Primary School 261 9 3.4 14 5.4 
			 120446 2152 Frithville Primary School 61 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 120449 2157 Gipsey Bridge Primary School 79 0 0.0 8 10.1 
			 120455 2167 Ingoldmells Primary School 91 11 12.1 14 15.4 
			 120474 2189 Skegness Junior School 340 39 11.5 66 19.4 
			 120475 2190 Skegness Infant School 333 51 15.3 78 23.4 
			 120476 2191 The Skegness Seathorne Primary School 379 22 5.8 40 10.6 
			 120494 2219 The Richmond School, Skegness 420 3 0.7 7 1.7 
			 120500 2234 Boston Carlton Road Primary School 417 143 34.3 143 34.3 
			 120501 2237 Park Community Primary School 226 9 4.0 9 4.0 
			 120503 2239 Boston Staniland Primary School 417 20 4.8 28 6.7 
			 120546 3085 The Saint Thomas' Church of England Primary School, Boston 376 12 3.2 12 3.2 
			 120547 3086 The Fishtoft School 76 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 120558 3102 Swineshead St. Mary's Church of England Primary School 225 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 120559 3103 The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton 118 21 17.8 22 18.6 
			 120566 3118 St. Peter and St. Paul Church of England Primary School, Burgh-le-Marsh 202 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 120593 3162 The St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Boston 199 17 8.5 23 11.6 
			 120615 3342 Boston St. Mary's RC Primary School 209 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 120620 3353 Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School 167 10 6.0 10 6.0 
			 120628 3170 The Sibsey Free Primary School 155 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 120629 3171 Stickney Church of England Primary School 177 (5)— (5)— 4 2.3 
			 120640 4022 Boston High School 733 6 0.8 8 1.1 
			 120643 4028 Middlecott School, Kirton 456 42 9.2 59 12.9 
			 120660 4072 Haven High Technology College 669 88 13.2 124 18.5 
			 120664 4516 William Lovell Church of England School 425 14 3.3 24 5.6 
			 120666 4604 Saint Bede's Catholic Science College 289 24 8.3 27 9.3 
			 120668 5201 The Wainfleet Magdalen Church of England/Methodist School 247 47 19.0 55 22.3 
			 120681 5214 Wyberton Primary School 233 8 3.4 8 3.4 
			 120682 5215 The Old Leake Primary and Nursery School 201 9 4.5 9 4.5 
			 120683 5216 The Butterwick Pinchbeck's Endowed Church of England Primary School 250 18 7.2 19 7.6 
			 120685 5218 Wrangle Primary School 80 6 7.5 6 7.5 
			 120688 5221 Boston Tower Road Primary School 612 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 120696 5400 The Skegness Grammar School 804 21 2.6 21 2.6 
			 120719 5423 The Giles School and Sixth Form Centre 896 82 9.2 88 9.8 
			 120720 5424 The Boston Grammar School 649 9 1.4 15 2.3 
			 126564 1012 The Boston Nursery School 90 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 133984 1104 Solutions 4 265 43 16.2 57 21.5 
			 134615 4609 St. Clements College 1,065 142 13.3 223 20.9 
		
	
	
		
			Pupil Achievement Tracker(6) 
			 urn Establishment number Establishment name Number of pupils Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
		
		
			 120367 1101 The Willows Centre 11 8 72.7 
			 120368 1102 The Chestnuts Pupil Referral Unit 24 8 33.3 
			 120405 2076 Toftstead Primary School 43 8 18.6 
			 120415 2094 Kirton Primary School 385 16 4.2 
			 120424 2113 Hawthorn Tree School 258 3 1.2 
			 120426 2116 Boston West Primary School 261 14 5.4 
			 120446 2152 Frithville Primary School 61 (5)— (5)— 
			 120449 2157 Gipsey Bridge Primary School 79 8 10.1 
			 120455 2167 Ingoldmells Primary School 91 14 15.4 
			 120474 2189 Skegness Junior School 340 66 19.4 
			 120475 2190 Skegness Infant School 263 78 29.7 
			 120476 2191 The Skegness Seathorne Primary School 359 39 10.9 
			 120494 2219 The Richmond School, Skegness 420 7 1.7 
			 120500 2234 Boston Carlton Road Primary School 360 143 39.7 
			 120501 2237 Park Community Primary School 226 9 4.0 
			 120503 2239 Boston Staniland Primary School 368 28 7.6 
			 120546 3085 The Saint Thomas' Church of England Primary School, Boston 376 12 3.2 
			 120547 3086 The Fishtoft School 76 (5)— (5)— 
			 120558 3102 Swineshead St. Mary's Church of England Primary School 225 (5)— (5)— 
			 120559 3103 The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton 118 22 18.6 
			 120566 3118 St. Peter and St. Paul Church of England Primary School, Burgh-le-Marsh 202 0 0.0 
			 120593 3162 The St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Boston 199 23 11.6 
			 120615 3342 Boston St. Mary's RC Primary School 209 (5)— (5)— 
			 120620 3353 Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School 167 10 6.0 
			 120628 3170 The Sibsey Free Primary School 155 0 0.0 
			 120629 3171 Stickney Church of England Primary School 177 4 2.3 
			 120640 4022 Boston High School 583 7 1.2 
			 120643 4028 Middlecott School, Kirton 456 59 12.9 
			 120660 4072 Haven High Technology College 666 122 18.3 
			 120664 4516 William Lovell Church of England School 425 24 5.6 
			 120666 4604 Saint Bede's Catholic Science College 288 27 9.4 
			 120668 5201 The Wainfleet Magdalen Church of England/Methodist School 247 55 22.3 
			 120681 5214 Wyberton Primary School 233 8 3.4 
			 120682 5215 The Old Leake Primary and Nursery School 183 9 4.9 
			 120683 5216 The Butterwick Pinchbeck's Endowed Church of England Primary School 243 19 7.8 
			 120685 5218 Wrangle Primary School 80 6 7.5 
			 120688 5221 Boston Tower Road Primary School 612 0 0.0 
			 120696 5400 The Skegness Grammar School 599 19 3.2 
			 120719 5423 The Giles School and Sixth Form Centre 794 87 11.0 
			 120720 5424 The Boston Grammar School 492 15 3.0 
			 126564 1012 The Boston Nursery School n/a n/a n/a 
			 133984 1104 Solutions 4 265 57 21.5 
			 134615 4609 St. Clements College 939 211 22.5 
		
	
	n/a = not applicable
	(3) Includes pupils with sole and dual registration of all ages.
	(4) Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the day of the census in January.
	(5) 1 or 2 pupils, or a rate based on 1 or 2 pupils.
	(6) Includes pupils with sole and dual registration who are full-time and aged 0 to 15 (inclusive) and those who are part-time and aged 5 to 15 (inclusive).
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

Teachers

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether her Department's (a) officials and (b) Ministers held discussions directly with the West Sussex (i) education director and (ii) cabinet members about the employment of an unsuitable teacher.

Ruth Kelly: Officials will often discuss cases with local authorities. This may sometimes include direct discussions with education directors. There have been recent direct discussions between the Department and West Sussex Director of Children's Services. There have been no discussions with cabinet members.

University Degrees

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 10 universities incurred the (a) greatest and (b) least cost to the state per graduating student in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: Figures showing funding on higher education per full-time equivalent student were published in the Departmental for Education and Skills Departmental Report 2005 in June 2005, but comparable figures for individual higher education institutions are not calculated by the Department. The derivation of robust and meaningful figures for each institution would involve complex analysis of the data sources, which could be completed only at disproportionate cost.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine TB

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of bovine tuberculosis in UK cattle in the last 10 years were attributed to infection from cattle originating from Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: This information is not held centrally. However, cattle imported from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are tuberculin tested 60 days after import.

Bovine TB

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many staff were employed in her Department's tuberculosis field teams in each of the last three years; and how many she expects to be so employed by the end of 2006;
	(2)  what role she plans for her Department's tuberculosis field teams in any future badger cull arising from the current consultation; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the number of staff employed by Defra's Wildlife Unit on 1 January of each year.
	
		
			  Field operations Administration 
		
		
			 2005 147 38 
			 2004 150 39 
			 2003 142 36 
		
	
	Staff are working to conclude the final surveying element of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), which has been running for the last seven years.
	Decisions about the future of the unit will be taken after the current consultation on a badger culling policy has ended. The cost benefit analysis which supports our consultation shows that state operated culling could lead to higher costs and slower delivery compared with other options. So our intention is to redeploy or release workers who have carried out cage trapping at the end of the RBCT. Remaining staff, who could be used to support any future culling policy, will be retained.

Dog Fouling

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty notices for dog fouling have been given by each local authority in each year since their introduction, listed in descending order.

Ben Bradshaw: Data are available for the number of fixed penalty notices issued for dog fouling offences by English local authorities from April 1997 through to March 2005. The table containing this data will be made available in the Library of the House.

Farming

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of people employed in the farming industry in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) the West Midlands.

Jim Knight: The total number of people working on agricultural and horticultural holdings in June 2004 are as follows:
	
		
			  Total employees Total labour force 
		
		
			 (a) Tamworth constituency 149 447 
			 (b) Staffordshire CC 2,767 9,851 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 18 109 
			 (c) West Midlands 16,958 46,782 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Total employees includes full and part time regular workers, salaried managers and casual workers.
	2. Total labour force included all employees plus farmers, partners, directors and their spouses if working on the holding.
	3. The county of Staffordshire comprises of Staffordshire CC and Stoke- on-Trent.
	Source:
	June Agricultural Survey

Organic Farming

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what publicly-funded assistance is available to a farmer wishing to convert to organic production.

Ben Bradshaw: Aid for farmers who wish to convert their land to organic production is available under Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS). This is the organic strand of Environmental Stewardship (ES) and is a "whole farm scheme" open to farmers who manage all or part of their land organically and who are not receiving aid under the Organic Aid Scheme (OAS) or the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) which are now closed to new applicants.
	Acceptance into the scheme is guaranteed providing an applicant meets all of its requirements, including ensuring that their organic land is registered with an Organic Inspection Body (OIB) before applying and that it remains continuously registered with an OIB for the five-year duration of the agreement.
	Participants in the scheme are paid a flat rate of £60 per hectare per year for all their OELS eligible land. In addition, land undergoing conversion to organic is eligible for conversion aid top-up payments of:
	£600 per hectare per year for the first three years of an OELS agreement for areas defined as top fruit orchards.
	£175 per hectare per year for the first two years of an OELS agreement for areas defined as improved land.
	OELS is administered by the Rural Development Service (RDS). Farmers can contact their local RDS office for advice on applying.

Notifiable Diseases

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  on what occasions in the last 30 years the livestock industry has been required to pay for the compulsory testing of animals under the Notifiable Diseases Orders; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the legal basis is for requiring the costs of compulsory notifiable disease testing to be met by the owners of livestock not intended for export; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Government have generally provided the funding for control and eradication of notifiable diseases, and the framework through the State Veterinary Service.
	Cost sharing on animal health issues between Government and industry is a key part of the Government's Animal Health and Welfare Strategy however. For example, from 27 March 2006, herd owners will be expected to cover the costs of their local veterinary inspector's time to carry out pre- or post-movement tests in certain circumstances for tuberculosis in cattle. The Government will continue to fund the provision of tuberculin and all routine surveillance testing at a cost of over £40 million per annum.
	Pre-movement tests are a private transaction between a farmer and their Local Veterinary Inspector. Since the fee for the tests does not come to Defra, there is no charge involved that requires statutory authority.

Snares

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the use of illegal snares; and if she will make a statement on the recent incident at Cramlington, Northumberland.

Jim Knight: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 24 January 2006, Official Report, column 1960W, on the assessment of the use of illegal snares.
	Regarding the Cramlington incident, the Government condemn the illegal and/or misuse of snares. However, we do not comment on individual cases. It is for the police to consider if any offence has taken place and to decide if any prosecution should follow.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Angola

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the relationship between Cabinda and (a) Angola and (b) Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ian Pearson: Cabinda is a province of Angola located in an enclave north of the Congo river and bordered to the South and East by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
	Cabinda has a Provincial Government which has the same structure as that of other Angolan provinces. The Governor of Cabinda is appointed by the central Government in Luanda.
	The Government of the DRC has full diplomatic relations with the Angolan Government in Luanda, which governs the whole Angolan territory including Cabinda.

Angola

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between the Government and Angola regarding the security situation in the province of Cabinda.

Ian Pearson: A representative of the British embassy in Luanda visited Cabinda in early February 2006. While there, he discussed a range of issues, including the security situation, with the Provincial Government and with representatives of various civil society and political groups.

Baltic States (Queen's Visit)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will accompany the Queen on her forthcoming tour of the Baltic states.

Jack Straw: It is my intention to do so, though with the Queen's consent, I may have to attend the European Council which may coincide with the end of her visit.

Iran

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with United States officials about (a) sanctions and (b) other measures against Iran for breaches of its international obligations in respect of its nuclear programme.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in frequent contact with their counterparts in the US and other countries concerning Iran's nuclear programme. These discussions have covered possible future steps, including the various options that would be open to the United Nations Security Council.

Iran

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with United States officials in 2005 on (a) support for a conditional security assurance to Iran and (b) the security assurance offered to Iran by France, Germany and the UK, acting as the E3, in August 2005.

Kim Howells: During 2005, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary was in close touch with a wide range of international partners about Iran's nuclear programme, including the United States.
	In August 2005, the UK, France and Germany presented to Iran proposals for a possible long-term agreement. These stated, inter alia, that, within the context of an overall agreement and Iran's fulfilment of its obligations under the non proliferation treaty, the United Kingdom and France would be prepared to reaffirm to Iran the unilateral security assurances given on 6 April 1995, and referred to in United Nations Security Council Resolution 984 (1995). The US expressed its broad support for the proposals. Iran rejected them without discussion or serious consideration.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the Sudanese People's Liberation Army to start withdrawing from the East of Sudan.

Ian Pearson: Under the terms of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), with the exception of joint integrated units, all Northern forces must be redeployed out of the South and all Southern forces redeployed out of the North. This process is ongoing.
	The southern Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was due to withdraw from Eastern Sudan—which is considered part of Northern Sudan under the CPA—by 9 January 2006. The Joint Defence Board (JDB), which is made up of representatives of both the North and South, agreed that the SPLA redeployment should be postponed by one month. This redeployment has not yet happened and discussions between the parties on the timescale for SPLA withdrawal continue. Whilst we continue to press the parties to fully implement the CPA, we support them in maintaining dialogue through the appropriate channels, such as the JDB, to resolve any difficulties.

Zimbabwe

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's latest estimate is of the number of Zimbabwean refugees to have fled to (a) Mozambique, (b) South Africa, (c) Botswana and (d) Zambia in the last 12 months.

Ian Pearson: It is impossible to estimate accurately the number of Zimbabweans who have fled from the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe to neighbouring countries. Very few apply for refugee status. Most try to formalise their stay with work permits, or are prepared to remain as illegal immigrants. However, we believe the number of Zimbabweans living in the Southern African region, but outside of Zimbabwe, to be approximately two to three million.

HEALTH

Audiology Services

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Prime Minister's answer of 18 January 2006, Official Report, column 842, whether her statement on waiting list and waiting times reductions applies to (a) audiology tests and (b) the fitting of hearing aids in hospitals.

Jane Kennedy: The Prime Minister was referring to reductions in waiting lists and times for in-patient and day case treatment. The vast majority of audiology patients are seen in out-patients.

Audiology Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the 18-week waiting requirements will apply to audiology departments for the referral, assessment and fitting of digital hearing aids.

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to reach her 18-week target in 2008 for the fitting of the new digital hearing aids.

Jane Kennedy: We are considering the results of a recent listening exercise on the principles and definitions to govern the scope of the 18-week pathway. In the light of comments received, we will publish conclusions in the spring. To go further on audiology at this stage would pre-empt those conclusions.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the net NHS funding contribution for (a) general dentist services and (b) personal dentist service dentistry has been in each year since 1997–98;
	(2)  what total (a) gross and (b) net expenditure on (i) personal and (ii) general dental services has been in each year since 1997–98 expressed in (A) real and (B) nominal terms.

Rosie Winterton: The tables show gross and net expenditure on general dental services (GDS) and gross expenditure on personal dental services (PDS) pilots. Expenditure on GDS since 1998–99 has been affected by the progressive movement of services into PDS pilots. Charge income from PDS pilots is not separately identified in national health service accounts up to 2004–05, so it is not possible to provide data for net PDS expenditure based on NHS accounts. Based on estimates obtained from Dental Practice Board payments data, we estimate that PDS expenditure in 2004–05 net of patient charge income was around £240 million.
	
		Expenditure on the general dental service, England -- £ million
		
			  Gross GDS(7) Gross GDS at 2004–05 prices(8) Net GDS(7)(5508840008) Net GDS at 2004–05 prices(8) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,348 1,583 959 1,127 
			 1998–99 1,438 1,646 1,018 1,166 
			 1999–2000 1,477 1,659 1,046 1,175 
			 2000–01 1,561 1,730 1,109 1,230 
			 2001–02 1,638 1,772 1,166 1,262 
			 2002–03 1,709 1,791 1,222 1,281 
			 2003–04 1,767 1,804 1,283 1,311 
			 2004–05 1,671 1,671 1,246 1,246 
		
	
	(7) Expenditure data for 1997–98 to 1999–2000 is based on cash data in appropriation accounts. Data from 2000–01 onwards is based on the relevant resource accounts data from health authorities (HAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs). This is to reflect the change in Department of Health Accountancy practices.
	(8) Revalued to 2004–05 prices using the gross domestic product (GDP) deflator index (December 2005).
	(9) Net expenditure represents the cost of the service after taking account of dental charge income collected from patients.
	
		Gross expenditure on personal dental service pilots, England -- £ million
		
			  Gross PDS(10)(5508840011) Gross PDS at 2004–05 prices(13) 
		
		
			 1997–98 0 0 
			 1998–99 4 5 
			 1999–2000 13 14 
			 2000–01 22 24 
			 2001–02 36 39 
			 2002–03 41 43 
			 2003–04 48 49 
			 2004–05 280 280 
		
	
	(10) Expenditure data is based on the relevant resource accounts data from HAs and PCTs.
	(11) NHS accounts data up to 2004–05 does not separately identify all elements of PDS gross expenditure. See note 3 for 2004–05 data.
	(12) An estimate of gross PDS expenditure based on payments data obtained from Dental Practice Board.
	(13) Revalued to 2004–05 prices using the GDP deflator index (December 2005).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in the London borough of Havering in 2005; and how many of them were breached.

Hazel Blears: The number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts, as notified to the Home Office from 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2005 (latest available), in which prohibitions have been imposed in the London borough of Havering is 10.
	ASBO breach data are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. These data are available at criminal justice system area level only.

Child Curfew Orders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child curfew orders have been issued in the Peterborough city council local authority area since 2001.

Hazel Blears: The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		Persons aged 10 to 17 sentenced to curfew orders in Peterborough(14) 2001–04
		
			  Number of offenders 
		
		
			 2001 25 
			 2002 20 
			 2003 30 
			 2004 18 
		
	
	(14) Petty sessional area of Peterborough and cases sentenced at the Crown Court following committal from Peterborough PSA.
	Source:
	RDS NOMS 15 February 2006

Community Engagement (Policing)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to improve (a) community engagement and (b) neighbourhood policing in Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to ensuring that, by 2008, every area in England and Wales will be benefiting from dedicated, visible, accessible and responsive neighbourhood policing teams. Effective community engagement will be key to the success of these teams, allowing local people to have real influence over local policing priorities.
	We are working closely with an ACPO led Neighbourhood Policing Programme team to help forces to implement neighbourhood policing and engage with local communities. This work includes sharing the learning from 43 neighbourhood policing pathfinders countrywide, and producing with the Association of Police Authorities a practical Community Engagement Guide for policing practitioners. We are also making £88 million and £340 million available to police authorities in 2006–07 and 2007–08 respectively as our contribution to increasing police community support officer numbers to 24,000 by March 2008.

Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Warley of 1 November 2005 on behalf of Mrs Sherif, Montague Road, Smethwick.

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Warley on 23 February 2006.

Crime Statistics (Licensing Hours)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is making comparisons of the incidence of alcohol-related (a) violent crime, (b) domestic violence, (c) motor crime and (d) disorder before and since the implementation of new licensing hours under the Licensing Act 2003 in equivalent (i) months and (ii) other periods of time.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office is leading on the national evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act on levels of crime and disorder.
	To provide a national assessment of the impact of the extension of licensing hours on levels of crime and disorder, data will be obtained from the Home Office's British Crime Survey and the Offending and Criminal Justice Survey. These surveys, will allow for changes to be assessed on a yearly basis for alcohol-related violent crime and domestic violence. Administrative data on other motoring related offences such as road casualties related to drink driving and breath-tests will also be considered on an annual basis. To supplement the national measures five areas have been selected as case studies. Recorded crime data will be analysed for two years prior to the Act becoming operational (baseline data) with recorded crime data for the year following the Act's implementation.
	The Home Office's Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC), which ran from 12 November 2005 to 24 December 2005, and focused on tackling alcohol related crime, provided an initial assessment of levels of recorded crime post implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. Provisional data, released on 8 February 2006, suggested that in those police force areas that took part in the campaign more serious violence fell by 21 per cent. compared to more serious violence recorded in December 2004.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are in each division of each police force in England and Wales; and what is the population of the areas covered by each division.

Hazel Blears: The available information is shown in the following table. Figures are for Basic Command Units which broadly equate to police force divisions. Population data is based on mid-2003 estimates supplied by the Office for National Statistics.
	
		Police officer strength and population figures by Basic Command Unit, 31 March 2005
		
			 Police force BCU Police officers  (full-time equivalent(15)) Population figures(16) 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset Bath and North East Somerset 221.4 170.9 
			  Bristol 935.7 391.5 
			  Central Services 1,157.9 — 
			  North Somerset 233.6 191.4 
			  Somerset East 274.2 258.9 
			  Somerset West 304.2 248.5 
			  South Gloucester 271.4 246.8 
			 Total  3,398 1,508.2 
			 Bedfordshire Bedford 277.6 187.1 
			  Dunstable 252.4 199.9 
			  Luton 343.0 185.2 
			  Central Services 358.7 — 
			 Total  1,232 572.2 
			 Cambridgeshire Central 312.2 236.9 
			  Northern 307.7 173.9 
			  Southern 365.5 319.0 
			  Central Services 432.6 — 
			 Total  1,418 729.8 
			 Cheshire Chester and Ellesmere Port 338.1 200.1 
			  Congleton and Vale Royal 302.3 215.5 
			  Crewe 191.8 112.7 
			  Halton 252.8 118.4 
			  Macclesfield 249.9 150.3 
			  Warrington 332.8 193.2 
			  Central Services 539.7 — 
			 Total  2,207 990.3 
			 Cleveland Hartlepool 189.8 90.2 
			  Langbaurgh (Redcar and Cleveland) 242.7 139.1 
			  Middlesbrough 317.5 139.0 
			  Stockton 280.2 186.3 
			  Central Services 658.5 — 
			 Total  1,689 554.5 
			 Cumbria Barrow and Kendal 377.6 173.0 
			  Carlisle and Penrith 346.0 152.9 
			  Workington and Whitehaven 375.4 163.9 
			  Central Services 161.3 — 
			 Total  1,260 489.8 
			 Derbyshire Alfreton (A Division) 318.4 227.9 
			  Buxton (B Division) 265.5 159.8 
			  Chesterfield (C Division) 347.5 269.9 
			  Derby (D Division) 508.9 318.6 
			  Central Services 641.9 — 
			 Total  2,082 976.2 
			 Devon and Cornwall Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (after April) 784.0 513.5 
			  North and East Devon (after April) 689.4 461.0 
			  Plymouth 582.6 241.5 
			  South and West Devon (after April) 612.7 385.2 
			  Central Services 730.1 — 
			 Total  3,399 1,601.2 
			 Dorset Bournemouth 316.6 168.3 
			  Dorset Eastern 220.7 209.3 
			  Dorset Western 205.8 171.2 
			  Poole 186.9 150.6 
			  Central Services 545.0 — 
			 Total  1,475 699.4 
			 Durham North Durham 607.4 320.9 
			  South Durham 554.5 271.4 
			  Central Services 576.1 — 
			 Total  1,738 592.4 
			 Dyfed Powys Carmarthenshire 348.4 176.0 
			  Ceredigion 153.4 77.2 
			  Pembrokeshire 239.1 116.3 
			  Powys 273.5 129.3 
			  Central Services 168.1 — 
			 Total  1,183 498.7 
			 Essex Basildon 272.5 172.4 
			  Braintree 232.2 204.9 
			  Chelmsford 219.7 212.5 
			  Colchester 199.7 158.9 
			  Harlow 366.6 268.5 
			  Rayleigh 163.1 165.9 
			  Southend 287.5 160.3 
			  Tendring 181.4 140.9 
			  Thurrock 254.9 145.3 
			  Stansted airport(17) 85.4 — 
			  Central Services 967.3 — 
			 Total  3,230 1,629.6 
			 Gloucestershire Cheltenham and Tewkesbury 306.6 185.1 
			  Cotswold and Stroud 252.6 184.7 
			  Forest and Gloucester 357.4 198.7 
			  Central Services 391.4 — 
			 Total  1,308 568.5 
			 Greater Manchester Bolton 549.2 263.8 
			  Bury 330.5 181.9 
			  North Manchester 736.2 128.9 
			  Oldham 457.2 218.1 
			  Rochdale 448.4 206.6 
			  Salford 591.1 216.5 
			  South Manchester 951.2 303.6 
			  Stockport 492.9 282.5 
			  Tameside 432.1 213.4 
			  Trafford 431.2 211.8 
			  Wigan 484.6 303.8 
			  Central Services 2,214.1 — 
			 Total  8,119 2,531.0 
			 Gwent Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent 465.3 239.2 
			  Newport 302.8 139.3 
			  Pontypool (formerly Torfaen and Monmouthshire) 299.2 176.8 
			  Central Services 370.8 — 
			 Total  1,438 555.3 
			 Hampshire Basingstoke and Deane 206.2 154.4 
			  Central Hampshire 216.0 165.1 
			  Solent East 274.6 214.7 
			  Havant 223.5 142.7 
			  Isle of Wight 193.9 136.3 
			  New Forest 216.7 171.2 
			  North East Hampshire 216.7 175.7 
			  Portsmouth 404.3 188.7 
			  Southampton 482.7 221.1 
			  West Hants 271.3 227.2 
			  Central Services 1,097.7 — 
			 Total  3,803 1,797.1 
			 Hertfordshire Hertfordshire Central 564.9 323.2 
			  Hertfordshire Eastern 635.8 416.4 
			  Hertfordshire Western 547.4 301.3 
			  Central Services 396.7 — 
			 Total  2,145 1,040.9 
			 Humberside East Riding of Yorkshire 449.7 321.3 
			  Kingston upon Hull 699.2 247.9 
			  North East Lincolnshire 342.5 157.4 
			  North Lincolnshire 287.9 155.0 
			  Central Services 472.7 — 
			 Total  2,252 881.7 
			 Kent Canterbury 229.6 139.5 
			  Maidstone 285.6 188.3 
			  Medway 384.9 257.8 
			  North Kent 387.5 228.8 
			  South-East Kent 361.5 186.0 
			  Swale 229.3 125.3 
			  Thanet 230.3 127.7 
			  Weald 229.0 145.6 
			  West Kent 264.6 200.9 
			  Central Services 1,028.2 — 
			 Total  3,630 1,599.9 
			 Lancashire Lancashire Central 387.4 130.5 
			  Lancashire Eastern 614.3 277.4 
			  Lancashire Northern 436.9 244.1 
			  Lancashire Southern 497.9 316.1 
			  Lancashire Western 556.5 217.5 
			  Pennine 582.2 243.8 
			  Central Services 510.4 — 
			 Total  3,586 1,429.2 
			 Leicestershire Central Leicestershire 465.9 130.1 
			  East Leicestershire 419.0 300.1 
			  North Leicestershire 367.2 242.9 
			  West Leicestershire 445.8 265.8 
			  Central Services 612.3 — 
			 Total  2,311 938.8 
			 Lincolnshire East Lincolnshire 283.1 191.5 
			  South Lincolnshire 284.0 250.9 
			  West Lincolnshire 344.5 222.9 
			  Central Services 322.3 — 
			 Total  1,234 665.3 
			 London, City of Bishopsgate 209.7 1.8 
			  Snowhill 228.8 6.2 
			  Central Services 442.0 — 
			 Total  881 8.0 
			 Merseyside Knowsley 317.4 150.2 
			  North Liverpool 806.0 250.9 
			  Sefton 478.5 281.6 
			  South Liverpool 471.4 191.0 
			  St. Helens 354.9 176.7 
			  Wirral 578.1 313.8 
			  Central Services 1,332.1 — 
			 Total  4,339 1,364.2 
			 Metropolitan Police Barking and Dagenham 419.1 165.9 
			  Barnet 561.0 324.4 
			  Bexley 382.7 219.1 
			  Brent 679.4 267.8 
			  Bromley 489.2 298.3 
			  Camden 850.4 210.7 
			  City of Westminster 1,617.1 222.0 
			  Croydon 692.0 336.7 
			  Ealing 686.2 305.0 
			  Enfield 574.7 280.3 
			  Greenwich 605.2 223.7 
			  Hackney 788.5 208.4 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 526.1 174.2 
			  Haringey 683.2 224.7 
			  Harrow 342.2 210.7 
			  Havering 383.4 224.6 
			  Heathrow(17) 437.5 — 
			  Hillingdon 497.8 247.6 
			  Hounslow 509.7 212.9 
			  Islington 683.4 180.1 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 561.6 174.4 
			  Kingston upon Thames 298.2 150.4 
			  Lambeth 984.5 268.5 
			  Lewisham 645.9 248.3 
			  Merton 351.7 191.4 
			  Newham 781.9 250.6 
			  Redbridge 458.7 245.1 
			  Richmond upon Thames 286.8 179.2 
			  Southwark 891.4 253.8 
			  Sutton 291.0 178.5 
			  Tower Hamlets 761.0 206.6 
			  Waltham Forest 545.8 221.6 
			  Wandsworth 582.3 274.1 
			  Central Services 11,223.9 — 
			 Total  31,073 7,379.8 
			 Norfolk Norfolk Central 447.3 308.3 
			  Norfolk Eastern 377.1 240.1 
			  Norfolk Western 364.9 262.4 
			  Central Services 364.9 — 
			 Total  1,554 810.7 
			 Northamptonshire Northampton 368.3 195.2 
			  Northamptonshire Eastern 200.0 152.7 
			  Northamptonshire Northern 226.8 137.3 
			  Northamptonshire Western 176.3 157.4 
			  Central Services 317.4 — 
			 Total  1,289 642.7 
			 Northumbria Gateshead 460.3 191.0 
			  Newcastle 815.8 273.6 
			  North Tyneside 389.9 183.8 
			  Northumberland 644.8 309.2 
			  South Tyneside 345.9 151.7 
			  Sunderland 680.8 283.1 
			  Central Services 751.1 — 
			 Total  4,088 1,392.4 
			 North Wales(18) North Wales Central 0 205.8 
			  North Wales Eastern 0 279.2 
			  North Wales Western 0 185.9 
			  Central Services 0 — 
			 Total  1,676 670.8 
			 North Yorkshire North Yorkshire Central 410.1 259.9 
			  North Yorkshire Eastern 399.4 242.8 
			  North Yorkshire Western 403.6 256.5 
			  Central Services 347.4 — 
			 Total  1,560 759.2 
			 Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire Area A 319.1 211.2 
			  Nottinghamshire Area B 303.3 218.0 
			  Nottinghamshire Area C 852.8 273.9 
			  Nottinghamshire Area D 367.0 326.2 
			  Central Services 679.6 — 
			 Total  2,522 1,029.3 
			 South Wales Bridgend 247.4 129.9 
			  Cardiff 685.9 315.1 
			  Merthyr Tydfil 135.8 55.4 
			  Neath and Port Talbot 238.4 135.3 
			  Rhondda Cynon Taff 377.6 231.6 
			  Swansea 454.5 224.6 
			  Vale of Glamorgan 219.7 121.2 
			  Central Services 957.1 — 
			 Total  3,316 1,213.2 
			 South Yorkshire Barnsley 380.4 220.2 
			  Doncaster 525.8 288.4 
			  Rotherham 395.2 251.5 
			  Sheffield Central 426.1 113.2 
			  Sheffield North 324.7 206.9 
			  Sheffield South 305.0 192.4 
			  Central Services 949.6 — 
			 Total  3,307 1,272.6 
			 Staffordshire Chase 415.8 320.2 
			  North Staffordshire 299.3 217.1 
			  Stoke on Trent 584.6 238.0 
			  Trent Valley 429.1 273.6 
			  Central Services 580.3 — 
			 Total  2,309 1,049.0 
			 Suffolk Suffolk Eastern 334.6 230.6 
			  Suffolk Southern 319.4 201.8 
			  Suffolk Western 342.1 245.7 
			  Central Services 326.9 — 
			 Total  1,323 678.1 
			 Surrey East Surrey 354.2 286.2 
			  North Surrey 359.0 282.6 
			  North-West Surrey 330.0 248.7 
			  West Surrey 337.6 247.1 
			  Central Services 578.0 — 
			 Total  1,959 1,064.6 
			 Sussex Brighton and Hove 486.0 251.5 
			  East Downs 380.0 323.1 
			  Gatwick(17) 165.5 — 
			  North Downs 378.9 350.7 
			  Senlac 302.4 172.2 
			  West Downs 518.9 407.9 
			  Central Services 862.4 — 
			 Total  3,094 1,505.4 
			 Thames Valley Aylesbury Vale 207.8 166.6 
			  Chiltern Vale 355.9 275.3 
			  Milton Keynes 377.6 215.7 
			  Northern Oxfordshire 281.2 229.1 
			  Oxford 328.4 142.4 
			  Reading and Wokingham 454.2 288.0 
			  Slough and District 298.8 159.9 
			  Southern Oxfordshire 281.6 243.8 
			  Thames Forest 360.5 247.6 
			  West Berkshire 177.3 144.2 
			  Central Services 1,066.2 — 
			 Total  4,189 2,112.5 
			 Warwickshire Northern 381.6 271.4 
			  Southern 305.4 248.0 
			  Central Services 324.6 — 
			 Total  1,012 519.3 
			 West Mercia Hereford (E Division) 276.6 176.9 
			  North Worcestershire (D Division) 470.2 267.0 
			  Shropshire (F Division) 393.3 286.7 
			  South Worcestershire (C Division) 414.2 282.3 
			  Telford and the Wrekin (G Division) 332.6 160.3 
			  Central Services 492.8 — 
			 Total  2,380 1,173.2 
			 West Midlands Solihull 401.0 200.3 
			  West Midlands D1 378.2 98.9 
			  West Midlands D2 359.9 171.9 
			  West Midlands D3 403.1 150.9 
			  West Midlands E1 343.1 141.3 
			  West Midlands E2 317.9 136.7 
			  West Midlands E3 296.5 102.0 
			  West Midlands F1 388.8 15.4 
			  West Midlands F2 304.5 81.1 
			  West Midlands F3 318.1 93.9 
			  West Midlands G1 336.5 113.2 
			  West Midlands G2 327.9 125.7 
			  West Midlands H1 315.4 113.2 
			  West Midlands H2 356.5 139.3 
			  West Midlands J1 283.6 128.6 
			  West Midlands J2 288.1 176.2 
			  West Midlands K1 359.3 147.4 
			  West Midlands K2 368.1 137.7 
			  West Midlands M1 322.1 89.3 
			  West Midlands M2 264.6 116.1 
			  West Midlands M3 280.0 99.6 
			  Central Services 1,140.9 — 
			 Total  8,154 2,578.5 
			 West Yorkshire Bradford North 361.3 175.8 
			  Bradford South 428.8 122.0 
			  Calderdale 383.8 193.2 
			  Chapel Town AC 314.2 145.0 
			  City and Holbeck CA 506.6 150.8 
			  Dewsbury 290.8 174.1 
			  Huddersfield 402.3 217.6 
			  Keighley 287.0 180.0 
			  Killingbeck BB 289.6 133.6 
			  Pudsey and Westwood AA 537.9 285.6 
			  Wakefield 629.5 318.3 
			  Central Services 1,239.5 — 
			 Total  5,671 2,095.9 
			 Wiltshire Chippenham (C) 324.1 249.3 
			  Salisbury (A) 292.6 191.5 
			  Swindon 355.1 181.2 
			  Central Services 255.4 — 
			 Total  1,228 622.0 
		
	
	(15) FTE strength includes police officers who are on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. FTE figures have been rounded to the nearest whole.
	number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sum of constituent items.
	(16) Based on the mid-year 2003 population figures provided by ONS.
	(17) Airport BCUs do not have a population attributed to them.
	(18) North Wales have yet to provide the correct BCU breakdown

Police

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were on establishment in the Cambridgeshire police force in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the tables.
	
		Police strength in Cambridgeshire by staff type, 2001 to 2005
		
			  Police officers Police staff 
			 As at 30 September: All officers (FTE(19)) All officers (FTE) less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave All officers (FTE(19)) All officers (FTE) less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave 
		
		
			 2001 — 1,350 — 668 
			 2002 — 1,398 — 759 
			 2003 1,415 1,406 811 807 
			 2004 1,428 1,413 824 817 
			 2005 1,463 1,444 862 849 
		
	
	
		
			  Traffic wardens(20) PCSOs 
			 As at 30 September: All officers (FTE(19)) All officers (FTE) less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave All officers (FTE(19)) All officers (FTE) less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave 
		
		
			 2001 — 37 — — 
			 2002 — 36 — — 
			 2003 20 20 58 58 
			 2004 11 11 56 56 
			 2005 0 0 92 92 
		
	
	(19) The full-time equivalent figure is a measure of the total full-time equivalent staff employed by a force, including staff seconded into the force and staff on any long or short-term absence. The FTE figure was first used in March 2003 and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003.
	(20) Cambridgeshire Constabulary, along with many other forces, has transferred responsibility for parking controls to the respective district/unitary authority, which has resulted in the force having no traffic wardens by September 2005.

Police Stations

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations have closed in (a) Islington North and (b) Greater London in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The Commissioner of Police informs me that no police stations have been closed in Islington North in the last three years. Greater London has seen three police stations closed and replaced in 2003–04, with an additional closure in 2005–06.

Visas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the 50 countries of origin for which the most work visas were granted in each of the last seven years.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	
		A list of the 50 countries where most work permit visas were issued at overseas missions in the last five years only
		
			 Rank/year 2004–5(21) 2003–4(21) 2002–3(21) 2001–2(21) 2000(22) 
		
		
			 1 Kiev Chennai (Madras) Chennai (Madras) Manila Manila 
			 2 Chennai (Madras) Sofia Manila Chennai (Madras) Mumbai (Bombay) 
			 3 Mumbai (Bombay) Mumbai (Bombay) Mumbai (Bombay) Mumbai (Bombay) Chennai (Madras) 
			 4 Pretoria Islamabad New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi 
			 5 New York Manila Pretoria Bucharest Pretoria 
			 6 New Delhi New Delhi Los Angeles Pretoria Moscow 
			 7 Manila Pretoria Islamabad St Petersburg Islamabad 
			 8 Los Angeles Dhaka St. Petersburg Istanbul Paris 
			 9 Islamabad Kiev Sofia Islamabad Washington 
			 10 Bucharest Los Angeles Moscow Moscow New York 
			 11 Canberra New York Bucharest Sofia Canberra 
			 12 Tokyo St. Petersburg Nairobi Beijing (Peking) Cairo 
			 13 Ekaterinburg Bucharest Kolkata (Calcutta) Karachi Kolkata (Calcutta) 
			 14 Guangzhou Moscow Beijing (Peking) Paris Beijing (Peking) 
			 15 Chicago Hong Kong Guangzhou Dhaka Tehran 
			 16 Dhaka Kolkata (Calcutta) Dusseldorf Kolkata (Calcutta) Bucharest 
			 17 Dubai Beijing (Peking) Hong Kong New York Singapore 
			 18 Ottawa Tokyo Bangkok Accra Amsterdam 
			 19 Hong Kong Canberra Paris Bangkok Istanbul 
			 20 Kingston Bangkok Amsterdam Nairobi Dhaka 
			 21 Beijing (Peking) Dubai Istanbul Lusaka Sofia 
			 22 Sofia Kingston New York Kiev Kuwait 
			 23 Moscow Lusaka Lusaka Dusseldorf Accra 
			 24 Kolkata (Calcutta) Guangzhou Dubai Lagos Kiev 
			 25 Lusaka Paris Kiev Los Angeles Bangkok 
			 26 Tel Aviv Dusseldorf Accra Kuwait Dusseldorf 
			 27 Bangkok Nairobi Kingston Dubai Los Angeles 
			 28 Singapore Accra Dhaka Kinshasa Karachi 
			 29 Kuala Lumpur Harare Lagos Belgrade Nairobi 
			 30 Karachi Shanghai Shanghai Colombo Colombo 
			 31 Dusseldorf Istanbul Harare Havana Lagos 
			 32 Riyadh Seoul Muscat Guangzhou Guangzhou 
			 33 Paris Dublin Colombo Geneva Guatemala City 
			 34 St. Petersburg Tel Aviv Belgrade Tehran Belgrade 
			 35 Rio de Janeiro Minsk Kinshasa Amsterdam Rio de Janeiro 
			 36 Istanbul Chicago Minsk Port Louis Shanghai 
			 37 Hanoi Bratislava Jakarta Shanghai Dubai 
			 38 Wellington Havana Bogota Chicago Taipei 
			 39 Minsk Rio de Janeiro Cairo Singapore Kingston 
			 40 Harare Colombo Madrid Cairo Ankara 
			 41 Seoul Ottawa Bratislava Jakarta Geneva 
			 42 Georgetown Singapore Georgetown Bogota Lusaka 
			 43 Chisinau Bogota Kuwait Amman Zagreb 
			 44 Abuja Wellington Karachi Gaborone Bratislava 
			 45 Lagos Jakarta Rio de Janeiro Almaty Chicago 
			 46 Dublin Lagos Bahrain Muscat Dakar 
			 47 Madrid Amsterdam Dakar Minsk Bahrain 
			 48 Havana Georgetown Havana Bratislava Riyadh 
			 49 Cairo Belgrade Taipei Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi 
			 50 Colombo Bahrain Singapore Rome Ekaterinburg 
		
	
	(21) Financial year
	(22) Calendar year
	UKvisas, the department with responsibility for entry clearance matters overseas, is unable to provide statistics for 1999 or 1998 as requested. The statistics for the number of work permit applications received, issued or refused were not specifically collated prior to 2000, and were published only as a component part of figures for non-settlement visa applications.
	The table is based on work permit applications made at those posts only. It is not possible to provide statistics on the country of origin of the applicant, though in general, applicants for work permits are expected to apply in the country of which they are either a national or legally resident.
	The figures that provided the base for this answer for the years 2001–02 onwards are available on the UKvisas website along with other entry clearance statistics at www.ukvisas.gov.uk—"Entry clearance: facts and figures".

Visas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals (a) applied for and (b) were granted holiday work visas in each of the last seven years.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of individuals who have applied for and been granted working holidaymaker visas in the last five years only, is as follows:
	
		
			  Applications received Visas issued 
		
		
			 2000(23) 45,448 40,351 
			 2001–2(24) 49,452 46,078 
			 2002–3(24) 53,238 49,365 
			 2003–4(24) 77,400 59,822 
			 2004–5(24) 88,957 69,504 
		
	
	(23) Calendar year
	(24) Financial year
	UKvisas, the department with responsibility for entry clearance matters overseas, is unable to provide statistics for 1999 or 1998 as requested. The number of working holidaymaker permit applications received, issued or refused were not specifically collated prior to 2000, and were published only as a component part of figures for non-settlement visa applications.
	The figures for the financial years 2001–02 onwards are available on the UKvisas website along with other entry clearance statistics at www.ukvisas.gov.uk—"Entry clearance: facts and figures".

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Video Conferencing

Keith Vaz: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will provide video conference facilities between hon. Members' offices on the parliamentary estate and their constituency offices.

Nick Harvey: A portable video conference facility has for some time been available for use by hon. Members in several of the meeting and committee rooms in Portcullis House. This equipment is due to be renewed shortly. Arrangements are also in place for the use of commercial web-based video conferencing services. Hon. Members need to acquire appropriate cameras to use this type of service, and enter into an agreement with a service provider. The parliamentary ICT service can advise on the options available.
	In the longer term, Westminster office to constituency office video conferencing options are being considered as part of a larger initiative intended to improve IT services to constituencies, including their links with Westminster. This project has completed an initial phase of research.

Car Parking

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission 
	(1)  how many hon. Members' cars have been parked in House car parks for more than (a) three months and (b) six months in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many hon. Members have parked more than one vehicle at a time in House car parks in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: The House authorities are aware of one hon. Member who has had a vehicle parked in House car parks for more than six months. Information on parking by hon. Members of more than one vehicle at a time is not recorded on a regular basis. The regulations governing the use of the car park must be enforced so that other Members are not inconvenienced by improper use of car parking space.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

International Development Questions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Leader of the House if he will extend oral Question Time for the Secretary of State for International Development beyond its current half hour.

Nigel Griffiths: The First Order Questions rota is regularly reviewed.
	My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House would welcome representations on this point.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Domestic Violence

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of services available to children who have been involved in domestic violence.

Meg Munn: From January 2005, the law was clarified to ensure courts consider the effects of domestic violence on children. Also new forms were introduced to enable domestic violence allegations to be made at the start of court applications for contact and residence involving children. These measures build on the Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and Safeguarding Children Guidelines on how to support children who have witnessed domestic violence.
	Workforce reforms are also in place, including a common core of training for all professionals working with children. Research is due to be carried out one year on from the implementation of the new gateway reforms.

Domestic Violence

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will discuss with ministerial colleagues (a) the courts being provided with powers to include restraining orders in the sentencing of perpetrators of domestic violence and (b) the granting of anonymity for the victims of such violence in relevant court proceedings.

Meg Munn: I am discussing these measures with ministerial colleagues as part of the planned implementation of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.

Domestic Violence

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government have to improve the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence.

Meg Munn: £30 million has been invested over three years for new refuge provision and refurbishment of existing refuge schemes. We have also invested £1.4 million to develop a new national domestic violence helpline (0808 2000 247).
	£200,000 is being provided in 2005–06 for the development of minimum service standards for the Women's Aid network of domestic violence services, a programme of accredited training and support for the regional network of women's refuges.
	A substantially revised domestic violence Best Value Performance Indicator will help assess overall provision and effectiveness of local authority services designed to help victims of domestic violence.

Domestic Violence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of services available to children who have been involved in domestic violence in West Lancashire.

Meg Munn: Nationally, it is imperative that domestic violence is integrated throughout work with children. The harm that can arise to children from domestic violence is set out in "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (1999) and these references will be updated when the new version of this guidance is published later in 2006. Domestic violence will be included as a factor to consider as part of the Common Assessment Framework (the nationally standardised approach to conducting an assessment of the needs of a child or young person and deciding how those needs should be met).
	The Department for Education and Skills is also reviewing the inclusion of domestic violence, as it affects children, in the Joint Area Reviews.
	The Children Act 2004 addresses the issue of services for all children at risk including those affected by domestic violence. The Children's Act should deliver greater accountability and integration of services locally, regionally and nationally, with a lead member for Children's Services and director of Children's Services in every local authority and a local safeguarding children board in every local area.
	In West Lancashire, there are currently three Sure Start children centres, each offering a multi-agency approach to a range of services for children and their families, based on individual need; including early learning integrated with day care, health services, parental outreach, jobcentre plus, information and advice to parents and access to specialist services. Two further children's centres are to be developed in the West Lancashire area during 2006 to 2008.

Domestic Violence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on improving the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence in West Lancashire.

Meg Munn: As Minister for Women and Equality, I sit on the Inter-Ministerial Group for Domestic Violence, chaired by my noble Friend Baroness Scotland of Ashtal which overseas the cross-Government National Domestic Violence delivery plan by reviewing progress at quarterly meetings. This is the mechanism for improving the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence nationally.
	The Government office for the north west (GONW) ensures that the National Domestic Violence delivery plan is disseminated and considered by all regional and local stakeholders through the development of an associated regional action plan. GONW is currently developing a regional strategy for domestic violence which will include West Lancashire.
	I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department's response to PQ No.53383 on the Government's plans to improve the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence in West Lancashire for further details on the progress made.

Equal Pay

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to address the gender pay gap.

Meg Munn: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The Women and Work Commission has today presented to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister its final report: "Shaping a Fairer Future" and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made in the House by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Women, earlier today.

Housewives (Fiscal Incentives)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about fiscal incentives for married mothers who wish to stay at home and bring up their children full-time.

Meg Munn: DTI and HM Treasury Ministers and officials regularly discuss all issues in which both departments have an interest.
	Families both in and out of paid employment have benefited substantially from the changes in the tax and benefit system. As a result of the Government's reforms since 1997, by October 2005, in real terms, families with children are on average £1,400 a year better off, while those in the poorest fifth are on average £3,200 per year better off.
	Budget 2005 improved this situation still further by announcing a commitment to increase the child element of child tax credit at least in line with average earnings up to and including 2007–08. From April the child element of child tax credit will be worth up to £1,765 a year for each child.

Job Sharing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to encourage employers to make provision for job shares.

Meg Munn: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The Government encourage all types of flexible working across the workforce by providing detailed guidance, promoting the benefits and sharing best practice.
	Business Link provides practical support and advice for employers on starting, maintaining and growing a business. Apart from help from individual advisers, the national award-winning website www.businesslink.gov.uk provides information about the benefits of, and different types of, flexible working, including job-sharing. Employers and employees can also access advice from the ACAS website and helpline.
	Since April 2003 parents with children under six and disabled children under 18 have had the statutory right to request flexible working. The law has been a success, with nearly 90 per cent. of requests agreed. Building on this, the Work and Families Bill, currently before Parliament, proposes extending the scope of the existing law to include carers of adults—a group who face particular challenges in balancing their caring responsibilities with work.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Births

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many births in each of the last 10 years were to mothers aged (a) 17 years, (b) 16 years, (c) 15 years and (d) under 15 years of age, broken down by health board area.

Angela Smith: The table gives the number of births 1 registered in Northern Ireland in each year between 1995 and 2004 where the mother was a resident of Northern Ireland, by age of mother and health board area.
	1 Birth is defined to be either still or live birth. Pregnancies which resulted in the birth of twins, triplets or other multiple births are counted twice, three times, etc.
	
		Number of births registered in Northern Ireland by mother's resident Health and Social Services Board and by age, 1995–2004
		
			 Registration year Age of mother Northern Ireland Eastern H&SSB Northern H&SSB Southern H&SSB Western H&SSB 
		
		
			 1995 Under 15 13 5 3 3 2 
			  15 32 12 6 6 8 
			  16 102 49 22 8 23 
			  17 272 114 57 40 61 
			 1996 Under 15 14 9 4 0 1 
			  15 40 15 13 4 8 
			  16 162 82 36 24 20 
			  17 327 138 84 45 60 
			 1997 Under 15 3 2 1 0 0 
			  15 36 21 6 2 7 
			  16 155 81 34 16 24 
			  17 349 142 104 44 59 
			 1998 Under 15 9 3 2 2 2 
			  15 47 16 16 5 10 
			  16 148 61 39 18 30 
			  17 338 145 72 55 66 
			 1999 Under 15 7 4 1 2 0 
			  15 57 28 10 9 10 
			  16 151 69 30 18 34 
			  17 350 143 87 52 68 
			 2000 Under 15 11 3 5 0 3 
			  15 47 19 10 9 9 
			  16 165 911 30 17 27 
			  17 312 139 73 46 54 
			 2001 Under 15 5 3 1 1 0 
			  15 37 24 5 2 6 
			  16 129 61 24 26 18 
			  17 280 128 67 51 34 
			 2002 Under 15 5 2 1 0 2 
			  15 32 15 10 2 5 
			  16 113 54 22 16 21 
			  17 304 136 61 43 64 
			 2003 Under 15 4 2 0 0 2 
			  15 29 9 9 7 4 
			  16 122 62 23 20 17 
			  17 268 125 46 45 52 
			 2004 Under 15 4 1 1 2 0 
			  15 35 21 7 4 3 
			  16 133 52 40 22 19 
			  17 274 124 63 37 50

Civil Service

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1141–2W, on the civil service, how many people work in the general service quarters of the Northern Ireland Civil Service; and what proportion of that total work in the positions identified in the answer.

Angela Smith: Information on the general service grades of the Northern Ireland Civil Service is set out in the table. The data relate to all staff in the general service grades in the Northern Ireland Civil Service and include staff in the 11 Northern Ireland Departments, the NIO and Executive Agencies.
	
		
			 Grade Number(25) Percentage of general service staff 
		
		
			 General Service Staff 19,902 100 
			 Administrative Officer 8,014 40.3 
			 Temporary Administrative Officer 9 0.05 
			 Administrative Assistant 2,330 11.7 
			 Temporary Administrative Assistant 370 1.9 
		
	
	(25) At 1 October 2005

Civil Service

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the change in the number of people employed in the ranks of the senior civil service in Northern Ireland has been since 2003, broken down by religious background.

Angela Smith: The following table shows the senior civil service broken down by community background at 1 January 2003 and 1 October 2005, which is the most recent date for which information is available.
	
		Senior civil service
		
			  1 January 2003 1 October 2005 
		
		
			 Protestant 165 149 
			 Percentage 65.5 60. 1 
			
			 Roman Catholic 68 79 
			 Percentage 27.0 31.9 
			
			 Non-Determined 19 20 
			 Percentage 7.5 8.1 
			
			 Total 252 248

Civil Service

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2005 to the hon. Member for South Antrim, Official Report, column 1377W, on the civil service, what the urgent business need to employ five temporary staff in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister was.

Angela Smith: The figures provided in the answer of 7 December 2005 reflected a temporary increase in staffing levels in the OFMDFM, as detailed as follows:
	three posts in Children and Young People's Unit to support the Minister for Children;
	one post in IT Unit: temporary post, to be removed by March 2008;
	one post to replace an officer seconded to the Strategic Investment Board: temporary for one year.
	The three posts which are not time limited have since been offset by reductions elsewhere in the Department.

Civil Service

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what interim targets he has set for achieving (a) the agreed efficiency target for his Department and (b) the Civil Service workforce reductions targets for (i) gross reductions in posts, (ii) net reductions in posts and (iii) relocations for his Department, as set out in the 2004 Spending Review; what the baseline figures are against which these interim targets are assessed; on what dates they will take effect; and by what dates these interim targets are intended to be met.

Peter Hain: Based on current forecasts, the interim targets are as follows:
	
		
			  March 
			  2006 2007 2008 
		
		
			 a: Efficiency Gains (£ million) 37.8 79.4 94.6 
			 b(i): Gross Civil Service Reductions 437 457 483.5 
			 b(ii): Net Civil Service Reductions 311 327 364 
			 b(iii): Lyons Relocations 6.5 7.5 9.5 
		
	
	In terms of baselines, the NIO DEL baseline for 2004–05 was £l,175 million, the total number of FTE civil servants in post at April 2004 was 5336, and the Department had some 100.5 FTE posts in our London office.

Civil Service IT

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made with the Northern Ireland civil service electronic Human Resources contract.

Angela Smith: The Department of Finance and Personnel appointed Fujitsu Services Limited as preferred bidder on 2 December 2005.
	The full business case is progressing through the internal approvals process and the award decision is expected in March 2006.

Civil Service IT

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the equality impact assessment on the policy to outsource the Northern Ireland civil service electronic Human Resources contract will be produced.

Angela Smith: The equality impact assessment (EQIA) on the policy known as the "e-HR programme", which relates to the future provision of human resource services for the NICS and NIO, will be published following the final decision on "award of contract". It is anticipated that this decision should be made in March 2006. The publication arrangements for the EQIA are in line with those set out in the DFP equality scheme.

Conferences

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how much the Department spent on organising or sponsoring conferences in each of the last five years;
	(2)  when he will provide an answer to Question 10250, on departmental expenditure, tabled by the hon. Member for Monmouth on 4 July 2005.

Peter Hain: The information sought by the hon. Member is not held centrally by the Northern Ireland Office and it is not possible to provide exact figures. However, it is estimated that my Department has spent the following amounts on conferences in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			  Amount spent on conferences (£) 
		
		
			 2002–03 8,000 
			 2003–04 26,357 
			 2004–05 120,584 
			 2005–06 80,746 
		
	
	I am sorry for the delay in providing this reply which was caused by an administrative error.

Continuous Positive Airways Pressure Machines

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients are using continuous positive airways pressure machines in each health board area.

Shaun Woodward: The number of continuous positive airway pressure machines supplied by each health board area in Northern Ireland as at 31 January 2006 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Health board area Number of continuous airway pressure machines 
		
		
			 Northern 20 
			 Eastern (26)637 
			 Southern 78 
			 Western 102 
		
	
	(26) Eastern health and social services board figure includes an approximation of 500 from Belfast city hospital using continuous positive airways pressure machines.
	Source:
	Health and social service boards.

Donaghadee Wastewater Works

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what revised plans have been made for the proposed wastewater treatment works at Donaghadee in County Down; and what factors influenced the decision to revise those plans.

Shaun Woodward: No revised plans have been made. The proposed works will be constructed in accordance with the Crown Development approval received in April 2005. As announced in August 2003, the works is being procured under Water Service's Public Private Partnership Project. Construction has commenced and completion is scheduled for December 2007.

Donaghadee Wastewater Works

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will meet a delegation of North Down residents to discuss the proposed siting of a wastewater treatment works in Donaghadee.

Shaun Woodward: New wastewater treatment facilities are required for the Bangor, Donaghadee and Millisle areas in order to comply with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995, to protect the environment and the local beaches, and to provide for the development needs of the areas for the next 20 years.
	The decision to site the treatment works at Donaghadee was taken in February 2002 by the then Minister for Regional Development, Peter Robinson MP MLA, following a rigorous site selection and evaluation process. The site adjacent to the carpet factory was identified as the Best Practicable Environmental Option. The Crown Development application was approved by Planning Service in April 2005. The new £42 million works is being constructed under Water Service's Omega Wastewater Public Private Partnership Project. Work has just commenced and completion is scheduled for December 2007.
	I recognise the many concerns which have been expressed by residents of Donaghadee and their public representatives about the siting of the works. However, there has already been an unprecedented level of consultation with the local community, their views have been fully considered and their concerns been addressed where possible. In the circumstances, I feel that a further meeting with residents would not be appropriate at this stage.

Efficiency Gains

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what baseline figures he is using for assessing progress on his Department's targets to reduce (a) the total number of civil service posts by 128 in the core department and (b) the number of public sector posts by 1,446; what progress has been made towards these targets to date; and what the total efficiency savings achieved to date are for these targets.

Peter Hain: The information required is as follows:
	
		
			  (a) Civil servants (b) Public servants 
		
		
			 Baselines at April 2004 5,336 16,873 
			 Staff in post December 2005 5,035 16,295 
			 Difference -301 -578 
		
	
	It should be noted that there is no direct correlation between efficiency savings and headcount reductions, for example, a project that comes to an end might result in headcount reductions but this cannot necessarily be claimed as efficiency. The efficiency savings identified in the NIO that arise from gross headcount reductions are as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			  Forecast by March 2008 Savings to December 2005 
		
		
			 Civil servants 6.2 4.1 
			 Public servants 39.8 15.9

Local Government Finance

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure that arrangements are put in place to enable Orange Halls and other halls used for community purposes to apply for de-rating in time for the commencement of the 2006–07 rating year.

Angela Smith: The legislation, which will enable all community halls to apply for full exemption from rates liability, is currently at debate stage and is not, therefore, on the statute books at present.
	In anticipation, however, of this legislation being passed soon and coming into effect on 1 April 2006, VLA is putting in place proactive and responsive procedures.
	It is VLA's intention to issue a Form of Return to all community halls, advising occupiers of the new legislation and inviting them to apply for full exemption immediately the legislation is passed. Hopefully this will make the process as rapid, straightforward and helpful as possible.
	VLA will endeavour to deal with responses as promptly and efficiently as possible and RCA will delay issuing bills at 1 April 2006 for a short period, pending the receipt of valid applications. In any event successful applications will be backdated to 1 April 2006.

Mains Electricity Supplies

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions mains electricity supply in the Carrowclare Road area of Limavady, Co. Londonderry has been interrupted in the past two years; and what redress is available to consumers for the loss of supply.

Angela Smith: Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) has advised that the electricity supply to the Carrowclare Road area of Limavady was interrupted on 16 occasions in the two years ended 31 January 2006.
	The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993, as amended by the Electricity (Standards of Performance) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, require NIE to make a payment of £50 to each domestic customer and a payment of £125 to each non-domestic customer whose electricity supply is interrupted for a continuous period of 24 hours. They also require the company to make a further payment of £25 to any customer for each continuous 12 hours their supply remains interrupted following the first 24 hours.

Parades

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been made available to support (a) Twelfth of July demonstrations, (b) Royal Black Perceptory demonstrations, (c) Apprentice Boys of Derry parades and (d) the Sham Fight in Scarva in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: A total of £36,705 has been made available since 2004 to support the Twelfth of July demonstrations. No funding has been made to support Royal Black Perceptory demonstrations, Apprentice Boys of Derry parades, or the Sham Fight in Scarva. Details of funding by financial year are illustrated in the following table.
	
		£
		
			   2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 (a) Twelfth of July 2,000 34,705 
			 (b) Royal Black Perceptory — — 
			 (c) Apprentice Boys of Derry — — 
			 (d) Sham Fight in Scarva — —

Police

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many arrests have been made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each district command unit since 2000; and how many successful prosecutions resulted from the arrests.

Shaun Woodward: Information has been placed in the Library. However, it is not held by DCU.
	Arrested persons are detained in any of 22 designated police stations, and records are kept on that basis. The closest available information is contained in table 1 and relates to the number of persons detained at designated police stations in Northern Ireland since April 2002 (2002 being the most recent year for which statistics are available).
	Table 2 details the number of cases which have resulted in a conviction during the calendar years 2000 to 2003 (data beyond 2003 is currently unavailable).

Rail Facilities

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken (a) to secure and (b) to improve the rail line north of Ballymena for travellers who use that route.

Shaun Woodward: The budget announcement on 20 December 2004 made provision for the development of the core part of the Northern Ireland Railways network in line with the funding estimates in the Railway Review Group (RRG) report. It also made provision for an element of capital renewal on the lesser-used lines in accordance with option 2 of the RRG report. The lesser-used lines are those between Whitehead and Larne, and between Ballymena and Londonderry (including a spur to Portrush). The option 2 proposal envisages some £17 million investment on the lesser-used lines over a five-year period and is designed to ensure the maintenance of services at current levels. While this approach effectively secures the delivery of rail services on the lesser-used lines during that five-year period, it makes no provision for any significant improvement to the rail services offered on those lines during that period. It is inevitable that there will be some degree of betterment arising from works to improve parts of the track or to enhance railway stations, but there are no plans to enter into any further funding commitments until it has been possible to review the impact of recent investment in the railways. This cannot be undertaken before 2007.

Recycled Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of copying paper used in each of the last 10 years by each Department in Northern Ireland was from recycled sources.

Angela Smith: At present, Departments' management systems do not hold this level of information. From 1 April 2006 all Departments will be running a 12 month pilot project in which all photocopying paper will be manufactured from a minimum of 70 per cent. post consumer waste.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much is expected to be saved as a result of meeting the civil service workforce reductions targets for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review; and whether these savings count towards the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the Review.

Peter Hain: Current civil service reduction forecasts in the NIO are expected to generate savings of £6.2 million by March 2008. These savings are included within the overall efficiency gains in this Spending Review period for the Department.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

Peter Hain: While the departmental target was £90 million for the SR04 period, current forecasts indicate savings of £94.6 million, of which £63 million will be cash releasing (i.e. 66 per cent.). These cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent in a wide range of expenditure areas which underpin the Department's priorities, including policing and security, criminal justice and political development.

Student Drop-outs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students in Northern Ireland have completed further education courses on-line in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: Currently nine of the 16 colleges are offering courses on-line. The extent of on-line learning varies from college to college. The Department for Employment and Learning does not hold information relating to on-line courses.

Teaching Staff (Absenteeism)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1534W, on teaching staff (absenteeism), what assessment he has made of the reasons for the differential in absenteeism rates among teaching staff in the various sectors in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department is aware of the higher level of absenteeism among teachers in some sectors and, in spite of extensive research by the group established by teachers' employers to examine teachers' absenteeism, it has not been possible to identify the specific reasons for the different rates. The Department and employing authorities are committed to reducing teacher absenteeism, and this has now reduced significantly: between 2002 and 2004 the average absence rate has reduced by 1.9 days per teacher per annum. Work is ongoing on a teachers' health and wellbeing strategy, which, when agreed and implemented by employers, will help to reduce sickness absence levels even further.

PRIME MINISTER

Downing Street Seminar

Nick Gibb: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the (a) schools and (b) organisations which attended the seminar held at Downing Street on 9 February; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 9 February 2006, a copy of which is available on the Number 10 website. The meeting was attended by representatives from a wide range of organisations, from both within Government and outside Government.

Fair Trade

Andrew George: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what his policy is on the procurement of Fair Trade produce for consumption by visitors to his Office;
	(2)  how much of his Office's catering budget was allocated for produce to be consumed by guests in the last period for which records are available; and what proportion of that allocation was spent on procuring Fair Trade produce.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister from the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 11 December 2003, Official Report, column 574W.

SCOTLAND

Rail Services

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on railway services.

Alistair Darling: Railway services in Scotland are a devolved responsibility. Regular discussions take place on rail issues at all levels between the Department for Transport and the Scottish Executive.

Devolution

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on mechanisms for dealing with issues of cross-over in policy areas devolved to Scotland.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the First Minister. This is complemented by frequent contact between the Government and the Scottish Executive, at both ministerial and official level.

Identity Cards

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how the introduction of identity cards in Scotland will differ from the rest of the UK.

David Cairns: The introduction of identity cards is a reserved matter and so procedures for issuing identity cards will be the same in Scotland as in the rest of the United Kingdom.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Correspondence

Tony Baldry: To ask the Solicitor-General whether he received the letter dated 26 January 2006 from the chairman of the three Oxfordshire local justice areas representing all magistrates in Oxfordshire to the area director of the Courts Service concerning the number of prosecutors made available to magistrates courts in Oxfordshire prior to his reply to the oral question from the hon. Member for Banbury of 13 February.

Mike O'Brien: No. I had not seen the letter referred to, which had not been copied to the CPS, prior to my reply to the hon. Member's oral question on 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1002. My office received a copy of the letter on 15 February 2006.

Fraud Trials (Juries)

Philip Davies: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress the Government has made in developing proposals in relation to the use of juries in fraud trials.

Mike O'Brien: Discussions remain ongoing with the opposition front bench about the use of juries in fraud trials.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's estimate is of the size of (a) solar photovoltaic, (b) solar hot water and (c) micro wind system needed to deliver a 10 per cent. carbon emissions reduction in a typical three bedroomed house built to 2006 Part L Building Regulations.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows:
	(a) A 3-bed semi developed to 2006 Part L regulations will use anywhere from 3,000–4,000kWh/electricity p.a. i.e. this is not dissimilar to the average across the whole stock. For the example below, we have assumed 3,000kWh electrical use. Since PV produces Electricity it can only displace the CO 2 from the electrical use in the building. 3,000kWh of electricity equates to 1,290kg/CO 2 p.a. (assuming 0.43kg CO 2 /kWh). A typical dwelling built to 2002 part L standards would have annual emissions of around 3040kg CO 2 (830kg Carbon). Assuming a 25 per cent. improvement on 2002 standards under 2006 part L standards, the annual emissions would be around 2,600kg CO 2 (710kg Carbon). Assuming a quality PV system delivers—800kWh/kWp/yr, the size required to meet a 10 per cent. carbon emission reduction would be around 0.75kWp, which would cost between £4,500 to £6,500 to install (assuming installed costs of £6,000 to £8,500/kWp depending on type of PV specified).
	0.75 x 800 = 600kWh/yr
	600kWh x 0.43 = 258kg CO 2
	10 per cent. x 2,600kg CO 2 = 260kg CO 2
	(b) A typical solar hot water heating system is designed to give up to 70 per cent. of water over the year ad for technical reasons it is not practical to go beyond this. 70 per cent. of the typical domestic requirement would not be sufficient to meet 10 per cent. carbon reduction of the building as a whole. This limit would equate to approximately 7 per cent. of the total carbon emissions of the building.
	(c) Of the micro wind systems designed to be mounted on a house it is not possible to give an estimate at this early stage of technology development.

Green Minister

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what work his Department's Green Minister has undertaken in the last three months.

Malcolm Wicks: In January I published a public consultation on the Energy Review. I have made a series of visits to meet businesses, environmental groups and stakeholders to publicise the review and encourage people to contribute to it. I have also published an introductory booklet "Our Challenge—Have your say" to inform the public of the issues in the review.
	The review is considering a wide range of options to help the UK meet its medium and long-term energy policy goals as set out in the Energy White Paper in 2003; including our commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
	For details of my activities as Green Minister in the previous two months, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 2348W.

Home Energy Efficiency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's estimate is of the lowest marginal capital cost to a housing developer of integrating (a) a micro wind turbine and (b) a solar hot water system in a new build house.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows.
	(a) It is not possible to give a figure for micro wind turbine on a house at this early stage of technology development.
	(b) Under the current Clear skies Programme installations across social housing developments have resulted in an installed cost of approx of £1,600 per system, larger developments could see greater reductions.

Home Energy Efficiency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to promote the uptake of building-integrated solar photovoltaics.

Malcolm Wicks: We have already funded PV installations to the tune of £29 million pounds through our major PV demonstration programme and £10 million through the large scale and domestic field trials. We have seen a number of successes from the programme such as a growing number of renewable installations at a variety of scales, the install base increasing significantly, costs reducing and recent investments in manufacturing capacity in solar power in the UK.
	The Department plans to continue its support for photovoltaics and other building scale renewables through a new low carbon buildings programme (LCBP), which is due to start in April this year.
	The DTI has also put effort into removing a number of barriers to the deployment of very small generators, such as PV. These include reduction of VAT to 5 percent. for professionally installed systems, a new PV annex to planning policy guidance note (PPG22), simplified connection agreements to the local network (G77 and G83/1) and installer training and accreditation schemes. In addition, the Government have amended the renewables obligation to enable very small generators like PV to accumulate their production over a year, rather than a month, so as to qualify for ROCs.

Home Energy Efficiency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's estimate is of the marginal capital cost to a commercial developer of installing a solar photovoltaic facade in place of conventional prestige facade materials.

Malcolm Wicks: The cost to a developer of using PV as a fac"ade material instead of conventional fac"ade materials will depend on what the PV is being used to replace. The following table gives a comparison of costs/m 2 of different fac"ade/building envelope materials.
	
		
			  Costs/m(28) 
		
		
			 Brick cavity wall £60 
			 Timber cladding £100 
			 Permarock wall cladding £100 
			 Steel rainscreen £200 
			 Glazed cladding £350 
			 Terracotta cladding £350-£400 
			 Stone £850-£1,500 
			 Tile roof £30 
			   
			 PV rainscreen cladding £600 
			 PV integrated curtain walling £800 
			 PV rooftile systems £500-£650 
		
	
	So where it is being used to replace prestige fac"ade materials like granite or marble, PV facades can be cheaper, though there will be some learning required to understand the fixing details which will impact on cost. Generally, however it is more costly to use PV when compared to most fac"ade materials used today.
	PV will deliver the following electrical outputs/m 2 :
	
		
			  Annual electrical output/demand (Wh/m(28)) 
		
		
			 Quality PV array ideally situated 100,000 
			 Office use 40,000–80,000 
			 Dwelling 25,000–50,000 
		
	
	The value of the electrical output is not sufficient to make PV cost-effective when used as a material to replace most facades. NB displaced electrical costs will vary according to electrical use and client type. Offices are like to pay anywhere from £0.02-£0.05/kWh, where as dwellings pay around £0.09/kWh for imported grid electricity. The value of the exported electricity is typically £0.02/kWh. Offices will utilise all PV generation on site. Dwellings may export to percent.
	The marginal extra cost to a developer where installing PV is therefore anywhere from £0/m 2 to £600/m 2 .

Shareholder Executive

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the status is of the contract of employment of the Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive; what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Executive on the contract running its full course; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Contrary to some press reports particularly in the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph Richard Gillingwater is still in his job. There is no truth in the rumours that he has resigned; he looks forward to continuing in the post of Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive and continues to be highly rated by his employers—Cabinet Office and DTI. Richard's contract runs until September and it is simply too early to start considering its renewal.

Shareholder Executive

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive was asked to appoint Lord Birt to the board of Urenco.

Barry Gardiner: No. The Chairmanship of Urenco is not a Government appointment.

Shareholder Executive

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's policy is for appointing directors to (a) the board of Urenco and (b) boards of companies for which the shareholder executive has responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Government only have a one-third stake in Urenco which is held through BNFL. Decisions about appointments to the board of the company are taken by BNFL jointly with their fellow shareholders (the Dutch Finance Ministry and E.On/RWE).
	The policy on appointments to the boards of other companies for which the shareholder executive has responsibility will vary according to the size of the shareholding. Where the Government have a majority shareholding, appointments are made strictly in line with the procedures laid down by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). Where the Government do not have a controlling shareholding and the appointments are not subject to OCPA, we nevertheless insist that the fundamental principle of UK public appointments should still apply and appointments be made purely on merit. BNFL advise that the appointment of the Urenco chairman was consistent with this approach.

Shareholder Executive

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the arrangements are for his Department to review decisions made by the Shareholder Executive about appointments to boards related to its shareholding responsibilities; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Appointments made by the Shareholder Executive to the boards of businesses or non-departmental public bodies within its portfolio are subject to scrutiny under the procedures laid down by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (the OCPA code).

Shareholder Executive

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on Government plans for Urenco over the next five years.

Barry Gardiner: Consistent with the 2003 Strategy Review of BNFL, the results of which were announced to the House on 11 December 2003, Official Report, columns 92–93WS, BNFL's investment in Urenco is being managed for value.

Shareholder Executive

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions the Government has had with the (a) Dutch and (b) German Governments on appointments to the board of Urenco.

Barry Gardiner: The Shareholder Executive has had no discussions, other than confirming to the Dutch Government that it regarded the appointment of the Chairman of the board of Urenco as a matter for the board of Urenco.

Trust Regulation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether trusts operated by UK-domiciled companies are registered and regulated in the UK.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	There is no central register for trusts in the UK. To the extent that trustees may engage in particular activities which fall within a regulated sphere, those activities may be regulated by the appropriate body, for example, the Financial Services Authority or the pensions regulator. Private trusts are neither registered nor regulated. Trustees are bound by the terms of the individual trust document and their duties and responsibilities as set out in law.

UK Trade and Investment

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what total efficiency savings were achieved by UK Trade and Investment in 2004–05; and whether these count towards current efficiency savings targets.

Ian Pearson: Efficiency savings of £850,000 were delivered in 2004–05 on UK Trade and Investment's programme funding stream. These do not count towards the £11 million efficiency savings on this funding stream that are required under UK Trade and Investment's current spending review settlement, which runs from 2005–06 to 2007–08.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to implement the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive within the recycling industry; and whether these plans will be affected by his Department's review on progress of the implementation of the Directive.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are required to implement the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and fully intends to do so. The Review will aid implementation by identifying the best way to proceed.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to publish the review of the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Review is focusing on setting out revised proposals for ensuring a fair and balanced implementation of the WEEE Directive. Once the Review has concluded and a way forward has been identified, my department will produce a formal consultation paper as quickly as possible, along with draft regulations, guidance, and a revised timetable for implementation.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received regarding the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 9 February 2006, Official Report, columns 1373–74W.

Wind Farms (Northumberland)

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the applications for wind-farm developments in Northumberland which have been submitted to his Department for decision.

Malcolm Wicks: The following is the information requested:
	Middlemoor, North Charlton
	Ray Moor, Kirkwhelpington

TRANSPORT

Biofuels

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures the Government is implementing to achieve the 2010 target for biofuels of 5 per cent. of road fuel sold.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 157W, given to the right hon. Member for East Yorkshire (Mr. Knight).

East Coast Main Line

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on track access to the East Coast Main Line between London and Hull.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail is currently researching a Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for the East Coast Main Line (ECML). The RUS will investigate the medium to long term optimal allocation of capacity on the ECML. The consultation document for the RUS is due to be published later this year.
	The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has announced a provisional decision to grant additional access to the East Coast Main Line to Hull Trains. The ORR is holding a hearing on 6 March 2006 to listen to representations concerning this decision.

Integrated Kent Franchise

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from Govia regarding the recent award of the Integrated Kent Franchise.

Derek Twigg: Officials at the Department of Transport have been holding regular meetings with Govia representatives to ensure a smooth introduction of the new Integrated Kent Franchise that is due to commence on 1 April 2006.

Metrolink Network (Manchester)

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had in the past six months with Greater Manchester passenger transport authority on the proposed expansion of the Metrolink network in Greater Manchester.

Derek Twigg: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has had a number of discussions with members of Greater Manchester passenger transport authority. Expansion of the Manchester Metrolink network is one of the issues that has been discussed in the context of the wider transport needs of Greater Manchester and the North West.

Private Finance Initiative

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the Highways Agency budget was spent on payments to private finance initiative contractors in the last period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency spent 4.5 per cent. of its annual budget on payments to PFI contractors in 2004–05.

Road Maintenance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average spending per mile on road maintenance was by the Highways Agency in each region in each of the past 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: Over the last 10 years, the Highways Agency has spent the following on road maintenance per network mile. Information on a regional basis is not available.
	
		
			  Spending per mile (£) 
		
		
			 1995–96 75,100 
			 1996–97 64,800 
			 1997–98 76,800 
			 1998–99 98,200 
			 1999–2000 114,300 
			 2000–01 120,100 
			 2001–02 121,300 
			 2002–03 148,100 
			 2003–04 150,700 
			 2004–05 159,000 
		
	
	Following the publication of the Integrated Transport and Roads White Papers in 1998, trunk road maintenance was identified as the Government's highest priority for investment in strategic roads. This is reflected in the increase in spending on trunk road maintenance from 1998–99. There is now no backlog of trunk road maintenance.

Road Maintenance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average change to local funding for road maintenance was for the additional cost of maintaining detrunked roads in each of the past eight years.

Stephen Ladyman: The detrunking programme announced in "A New Deal for Transport in England" (1998) (Cm 3950) started in 2001–02. In recognition of the extra costs that would be incurred by local highway authorities taking over responsibility for detrunked routes, the Government gave a commitment to ensuring that detrunking would be accompanied by a fair transfer of resources. It was agreed with the Local Government Association (LGA) that the most effective way of ensuring that authorities were provided with resources for the routine maintenance of detrunked routes would be by means of an annual special grant. This was intended to be a transitional distribution method, and it remains the Government's policy that detrunked roads will, in due course, be incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant system. Capital support has been through the issue of SCAs (Supplementary Credit Approvals) to 2003–04 and from 2004–05 SCERs (Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue)).
	The following resource and capital funding has been made available to local highway authorities:
	
		£ million
		
			  Revenue (maintenance of roads grant determination) Capital 
			 Financial year Previous detrunking New detrunking Total SCA/SCE(R)s 
		
		
			 2001–02 — 4.074 4.074 4.230 
			 2002–03 5.469 10.647 16.116 10.772 
			 2003–04 19.179 7.190 26.368 28.472 
			 2004–05 28.206 4.927 33.133 31.552 
			 2005–06 35.367 1.181 36.548 45.016 
		
	
	Note:
	New detrunking refers to the roads detrunked that year which receive a proportion of the grant set out in the Maintenance of Roads Grant Determination depending on the actual date of detrunking.

Road Maintenance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the road network has been detrunked in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: The policy of transferring non-core trunk roads (detrunking) to local highway authorities was first set out in the White Paper "A New Deal for Transport" published in July 1998. The aim has been to transfer some 3,200 km (30 per cent.) of the trunk road network (as it was in April 1999) to local authorities in a phased programme. To date more than 80 per cent. (around 2,628 km) of the programme has been completed since April 2001.
	The annual progress of the detrunking programme has been:
	
		
			  Kilometres 
		
		
			 2001–02 450 
			 2002–03 1,100 
			 2003–04 580 
			 2004–05 380 
			 2005–06 118

Train Service Usage Data

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account is made of passengers travelling on (a) Rover tickets, (b) Britrail passes and (c) other concessions and non-specific tickets when compiling train service usage data.

Derek Twigg: Rail usage data is published in "National Rail Trends" by the Office of Rail Regulation including Rover tickets, Britrail passes and other concessionary tickets. Copies of the publication are available in the Libraries of the House.

Railway Stations (Smoking)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many train stations in (a) England and (b) the Tees Valley do not have a no smoking policy on uncovered areas of the station;
	(2)  what guidelines the Department has set for smoking policies in (a) uncovered sections of train stations and (b) bus stops.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport does not hold information about smoking policies at individual stations. Under the Railways Act 1993 as amended, train operating companies may regulate smoking in railway carriages and at their stations. It is a matter for the train operators to decide whether, and where, to permit smoking. The Department for Transport has not provided any guidelines on smoking policies at railway stations or at bus stops.

Workplace Parking

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2006, Official Report, column 1082W, on workplace parking, which Minister is responsible for joint work between his Department and the Treasury on the feasibility of a new tax or levy on workplace parking.

Stephen Ladyman: There is no joint work currently under way between the Department for Transport and the Treasury on the feasibility of a new tax or levy on workplace parking.

TREASURY

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to base an increased percentage of car taxes on carbon dioxide emissions by 2010; what research he has evaluated on the merits of this policy; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The carbon emission based graduated vehicle excise duty (VED) system applies to all cars registered on or after 1 March 2001. Carbon emission data for all vehicles registered before then is not available. The Chancellor keeps all taxation policy under review, and considers relevant economic, social and environmental factors in deciding future policy. Any changes will be announced in the context of the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Children's Trust Funds

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the take-up of children's trust funds is in the Peterborough constituency; how many of these are low-income families; and what proportion of the total take-up this represents.

Ivan Lewis: Child trust fund information at constituency level would be available only at disproportionate cost. UK-wide information on the number of child trust fund vouchers issued and the number of accounts opened are published on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_trust_funds/child-trust-funds.htm
	Information about accounts opened by low-income families, once available, will be published alongside other annual CTF statistics. The first set of annual CTF statistics will be published later this year.

Consumer Protection

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Department has undertaken of the performance of the Financial Services Authority in meeting its statutory requirement to protect consumers.

Ivan Lewis: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has statutory responsibility to promote public understanding of the financial system and to secure the right degree of protection for consumers. The FSA's annual report, which is laid before Parliament, explains how this statutory remit has been met.

Air Passenger Duty

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been generated by domestic air tax on flights between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Revenue figures for air passenger duty are collected for the UK as a whole and are not broken down by devolved region. Historical APD revenue can be found in Air Passenger Duty Bulletin published by HM Revenue and Customs and available on UK Trade Info Website:
	www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=statindex.

Financial Advice

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Department has made of the impact on consumer protection of the availability of independent advice on financial products.

Ivan Lewis: The Government have established a system of consumer protection that regulates financial services through the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
	The FSA regulates the provision of financial advice for most types of investments, mortgages and general or protection insurance. It also provides impartial information to consumers through its website, helpline and publications.

Historical Wrecks

Robert Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial benefit the Government will receive from profits made on the salvage contract for HMS Sussex.

Ivan Lewis: The Government prefers not to speculate on the value likely to be realised, as much will depend on the quantity, quality, rarity and other aspects of any coins and goods recovered that are subsequently sold.
	Details of the Government's share of any profits have been disclosed on the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency's website, www.edisposals.com. A copy of the Partnering Agreement Memorandum, setting out the main provisions of the Licence Agreement, and a copy of a Synopsis of the Archaeological Requirements contained within the Licence Agreement were placed in the Library of the House on 25 November 2002.

HM Revenue and Customs

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report, column 1288W, on HM Revenue and Customs (chairman), what effect the six measures agreed with the chairman of HM Revenue and Customs have had on the efficiency of the tax credit system; and what steps he is taking to reduce the backlog of disputed tax credit overpayments awaiting a decision.

Dawn Primarolo: For an update on progress on the six measures and processing of disputed overpayments, I refer the hon. Gentleman to my evidence to the Treasury Sub-Committee of 26 October 2005 and 1 February 2006.

Lisbon Agenda

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the European Commission's annual progress report on the Lisbon Agenda; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: European Union Finance Ministers discussed the Commission's annual progress report on 14 February in the context of an orientation debate ahead of the spring European Council. Discussions between Ministers in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council are routinely reported by written ministerial statement.

National Insurance

Stephen Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will abolish the Class 2 National Insurance contributions in respect of those self-employed people living abroad.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 14 February 2006
	Payment of Class 2 contributions by workers living abroad is intended to allow workers to be able to qualify for some contributory benefits (such as incapacity benefit and maternity allowance) on their return to the UK in addition to the basic state pension.

Oil Companies

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of introducing a windfall tax on oil company profits; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In pre-Budget report 2005 the Chancellor announced a package of changes to North sea oil taxation to make sure that the North sea tax regime strikes the right balance between oil producers and consumers, by promoting investment and ensuring fairness for taxpayers. As part of this announcement the Chancellor committed to no further increases in North sea oil taxation for the lifetime of this Parliament.

Online Gambling

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are being taken to collect tax from offshore online, mobile and interactive gaming companies who advertise in the UK for business.

John Healey: UK gambling duties are only levied on operators based in the UK. Operators based offshore are not liable for UK gambling duties, but are liable for the relevant duties in the jurisdiction where they are based. Normal UK corporation tax rules also apply.
	The 2005 National Audit Office report on gambling duties noted that the reform of betting duty in 2001
	"has reversed the trend of bookmakers moving their telephone and internet operations offshore which was increasingly threatening gambling duty revenue."

Personal Allowances

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds, assuming no changes in behaviour, (a) including and (b) excluding changes to tax credits and benefits of increasing personal allowances in increments of £1,000 to twice their current level.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 16 February 2006
	The following table provides the total costs of increasing personal allowances in increments of £1,000.
	
		Cost of changing personal allowances in 2005–06
		
			 Personal allowance  Cost 
			 Age under 65 (£) Age 65 to 74 (£) Age 75 and over (£) Blind person's allowance (£) Excluding benefits adjustments(27) (£ million) Including benefits adjustments(27)(5508840028) (£ million) 
		
		
			 (29)4,895 (29)7,090 (29)7,220 (29)1,610 — — 
			 5,895 8,090 8,220 2,610 6,370 6,240 
			 6,895 9,090 9,220 3,610 12,370 12,150 
			 7,895 10,090 10,220 4,610 18,030 17,760 
			 8,895 11,090 11,220 5,610 23,500 23,180 
			 9,895 12,090 12,220 6,610 28,410 28,060 
		
	
	(27) These are the total costs (not incremental costs) of changing the personal allowances to those indicated in the table.
	(28) Increasing the personal allowance increases net incomes, after income tax. In some cases, this may have the impact of reducing entitlement to other benefits (for instance housing benefit), and hence reducing the cost of the option.
	(29) Current.
	These estimates assume that the threshold for national insurance contributions remains unchanged.
	Entitlement to some tax credits is based on gross income, and therefore would be unaffected by these changes. Estimates of the cost of changing the personal allowances excluding benefits adjustments are based on the 2003–04 Survey of Personal Incomes projected forward to 2005–06. The estimates were adjusted for benefits changes using the Department's tax and benefit model (IGOTM) based on the 2003–04 Family Resource Survey and projected forward to 2005–06.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response, which could be significant given the scale of some of the changes.

Recycling

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the worth of the recycling industry in the UK to the UK economy in each of the past five years.

John Healey: The Treasury has made no estimate of the worth of the recycling industry in the UK. However, an estimate can be derived from the Annual Business Inquiry survey published by Office for National Statistics. Based on this survey, turnover and gross value added for businesses involved in the recycling industry are shown in the following table:
	
		£ million
		
			  Turnover Gross value added 
		
		
			 2000 3,111 816 
			 2001 3,522 984 
			 2002 3,847 1,037 
			 2003 4,156 1,095 
			 2004 5,262 1,484

Research and Development Tax Credits

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what circumstances trigger an investigation by his Department into possible fraudulent claims by companies for research and development tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Claims to R&D tax credits, along with other elements of companies' tax computations or returns, are subject to a process of risk assessment. When significant risks are identified they are pursued through a variety of interventions, one option being the opening of an inquiry into the company return or claim.
	The procedures and circumstances under which inquiries are conducted are published in HMRC's Enquiry Manual.
	If, as a result of an inquiry, a return or claim is found to be incorrect and, as a result of this, insufficient tax has been paid, or an excessive amount of tax credit claimed, steps will be taken to recover the tax due. Interest will be charged and penalties will be considered where appropriate.
	Where serious fraud is identified the Department will adopt its normal civil or criminal investigation procedures.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers have been contacted by staff from HM Revenue and Customs in relation to instances of suspected tax credit fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 24 January 2006
	My written answer of 18 January 2006, Official Report, columns 1357–58W, set out that, as a result of identity fraud uncovered by HMRC, they would write to all whose names had been stolen for the purpose of fraudulent claims. HMRC has been working with DWP and Network Rail to advise those staff members affected. As part of the process of correcting the records, HMRC is informing individually all those whose identities were used in fraudulent claims that made it into payment.
	HMRC will also shortly be writing to the remaining individuals who, according to investigations to date, have been victims of an identity theft unconnected to a specific employer. These letters inform them that their records have been corrected and highlight sources of advice on how to minimise the risks of identity fraud in the future. I can assure the House that genuine claimants will not be financially disadvantaged in respect of their tax credit claims.

Tax Credits

Ian Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks are in place to ensure that individuals from other EU countries who are claiming tax credits are resident in the UK for the duration of their claim.

Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Credit Act 2002 section 3 (3) and (7) provides a general requirement for residency in the UK for tax credit eligibility purposes (unless prescribed exceptions apply). HMRC have a range of checks in place to determine the overall risk of a claim—both pre and post payment—and intervene where they suspect a claim may be wrong or fraudulent.

Tax Credits

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of forged tax credits resulting in prosecution have been reported to Jobcentre Plus in Peterborough in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: There have been no cases of forged (fraudulent) tax credit claims resulting in a prosecution relating to Jobcentre Plus in Peterborough in the last 12 months.

Tax Credits

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether tax credit call centre staff have been given guidance on handling calls from tax credit claimants whose awards have suddenly stopped and where identity fraud is suspected; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC Contact Centre staff have been provided with guidance for handling cases where identity or other fraud is suspected. It would not be appropriate to put details of that advice into the public domain.

Tax Credits

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount awarded in tax credits in Northern Ireland was in each of the last two years.

Dawn Primarolo: Average numbers of in-work families, and their tax credit entitlement, by constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003–04 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2003–04 Geographical Analysis." This publication is available on the HMRC website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm This does not include out of work families receiving child tax credits.
	Similar figures for 2004–05 are due to be published in May 2006.

Tax Credits

Dan Norris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many residents of Wansdyke constituency were in receipt of (a) child benefit, (b) child tax credit and (c) working tax credit in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of families receiving child benefit by constituency, at August 2004, is available in the HMRC publication "Child Benefit Statistics. Geographical Analysis August 2004", which can be found on the HMRC website: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/geographical.htm Figures for August 2005 are due to be published in spring 2006.
	Estimates for 2003–04 of the number of in-work families with tax credits awards by constituency, including information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003–04 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2003–04 Geographical Analysis." This publication and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families by constituency with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2004–05 are available on the HMRC website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of telephone calls (a) made to, and (b) picked up by, the tax credits helpline in November; how many of these were (i) engaged and (ii) abandoned; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of calls (a) made to, and (b) picked up by, the tax credits helpline in November; how many of these were (i) engaged and (ii) abandoned made to in November 2005, were as follows:
	
		
			 November 2005 Calls in thousands 
		
		
			 Received(30) 1,588 
			 Handled(31) 1,523 
			 Engaged(32) 3 
			 Abandoned(33) 65 
		
	
	(30) Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser
	(31) Where the caller spoke to an adviser.
	(32) Call attempts where the caller received an engaged tone.
	(33) Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser but the call was terminated before the caller spoke to an adviser.

Tobacco

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much has been raised in tax revenue from tobacco products in each of the past five years;
	(2)  what the rate of tax on tobacco products was in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: The rates of excise duty and the duty receipts for tobacco products can be found in the HM Revenue and Customs "Tobacco Bulletin", which is available from a HM Revenue and Customs website address at:
	http://www.uktradeinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?task=bulltobac
	HM Revenue and Customs do not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services.

Tobacco

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net tax revenue effect of the amendments to the Health Bill in respect of smoking passed by the House on 14 February 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government take all factors into account when forecasting tax revenues, including changes in consumption resulting from Government measures to reduce smoking prevalence. The Government will be publishing an updated forecast of tobacco tax revenues in the Budget as usual.

UK Film Production

Michael Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the titles of those films which have claimed the tax reliefs designed to promote the production of UK films since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: This information cannot be provided, as it is confidential to individual taxpayers who have claimed such relief on their tax returns.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list foreign trips made by representatives of the Valuations Office Agency at public expense in each of the last three years; and what the (a) purpose and (b) destination was in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: Regarding the cost of foreign visits, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given, to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman), on 19 January 2006, Official Report, column 1502W. The additional information now requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The expertise of the Valuation Office Agency, in the field of property valuation, is respected around the world. The Valuation Office Agency receives a number of requests to provide advice to overseas Governments, to assist in the training of the staff employed by overseas Government valuation agencies and to share its expertise in the valuation of particular types of property. Sometimes these requests involve Valuation Office Agency staff providing advice to delegations visiting the United Kingdom from other countries, sometimes they involve Valuation Office Agency staff travelling abroad.

WALES

Olympic Games

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made within Government about securing benefits to Wales from the 2012 Olympics.

Peter Hain: The Government have made clear that hosting the Olympic games should have a positive impact in terms of regeneration, investment and tourism, and that benefits should be spread across the whole of the UK.
	The Welsh Assembly Government have established a Wales Steering Group, made up of key stakeholders in public, private and voluntary sectors to maximise the potential sporting, economic, social and cultural benefits to Wales that will arise from the London Olympic and Paralympic games. I fully support those efforts.

Clean Coal Technology

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and (b) Welsh Assembly Government on increasing the use of clean coal technology in the coal industry in Wales.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with Cabinet and Assembly colleagues about the opportunities that clean coal technologies could provide to UK's future energy mix.
	In Wales, new technology is already being used to mitigate the environmental impact of coal. The coal-fired power stations at Uskmouth and Aberthaw are either already utilising or plan to fit flue gas desulphurisation, which reduces pollutants from coal fired power stations. Tower colliery is also making use of captured coal methane to generate electricity. The Government also support research to explore how carbon emissions from coal might be reduced or even eliminated in the longer term.
	Government funding worth £35 million has been announced for the demonstration of carbon abatement technologies (CAT) such as carbon capture and storage. The DTI expect to receive proposals from industry for projects in late spring 2006.
	In addition to this, CAT projects have been included as part of the November 2005 call for R&D proposals under the DTI's Technology programme supporting collaborative R&D. Around £13 million is being made available for energy based technologies with some of this being allocated to successful CAT projects.

Departmental Staff

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans his Department has to change the London allowance of its staff; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office does not pay staff a London allowance, and there are no plans at present to change this.

Railway Stations (Disabled Access)

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with (a) rail companies, (b) the Disability Rights Commission in Wales and (c) Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government on improvements to disabled access to rail stations in Wales.

Nick Ainger: I have regular meetings with Welsh Assembly Government colleagues and I have recently met senior managers of First Great Western, Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales when access for the disabled was one of the matters discussed. Arriva Trains Wales manage 235 stations in Wales and I understand that the majority are accessible for customers with disabilities including wheelchairs. Following a disability audit of their stations, I understand that Arriva will be liaising with disability groups to prioritise the results.
	The Government have announced a £370 million Access for All fund, specifically to deliver a programme of access improvements across the rail network over the next 10 years. Towards the end of March, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will be publishing details of how this fund will be targeted.

Wales (Overnight Visits)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) nights he has stayed overnight and (b) days he has spent in Wales on official business in each month since taking up his post.

Peter Hain: Due to disproportionate costs, this information is not available for the period October 2003 to May 2005 in the format requested.
	Since taking up my post as Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland in May 2005 I have spent 62 days in Wales on official business.
	In addition to the time spent in Wales, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I undertake Wales business in Parliament and in the Wales Office at Gwydyr House, London.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the claimant on-flow rates to (a) incapacity benefit and (b) severe disablement allowance were in each of the last 15 years.

Anne McGuire: Incapacity benefit was introduced in April 1995. The first full year for which figures are available is 1996. The available information is in the following table.
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) on-flows; Great Britain
		
			  IB/SDA IB SDA 
		
		
			 1996 1,001,500 957,700 43,800 
			 1997 981,500 937,100 44,400 
			 1998 850,300 824,600 25,700 
			 1999 816,100 793,200 22,900 
			 2000 792,800 768,800 24,000 
			 2001(34) 763,800 751,800 12,000 
			 2002 727,400 724,600 2,800 
			 2003 709,100 706,600 2,500 
			 2004 675,000 672,900 2,100 
			 2005 (part)(35)(5508840036) 441,600 440,100 1,500 
		
	
	(34) New commencements to SDA ceased in April 2001. Some commencements still appear after this date due to the case being re-built. This occurs when the case is removed from the system for amendment and then subsequently replaced with a new date of commencement.
	(35) Figures for 2005 only include the three available quarters; February, May and August and are not comparable with previous years.
	(36) Figures for the latest year do not include some late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. For illustration purposes, total commencements for May 2004 increased by 18 per cent. in the year following their initial release.
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. Numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. Annuals figures have been created by adding quarterly data for February, May, August and November.
	4. Incapacity benefit (IB) figures include IB credits-only cases.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample data.

Benefits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employees of (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible were primarily engaged in administering paper-based methods of benefit claims in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not available.
	The Department for Work and Pensions, including Jobcentre Plus, keeps staffing records by grade and location, but not by job role.

Benefits

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of incapacity benefit claims which have been turned down on the basis of insufficient national insurance contributions (NIC) as a result of delays in updating NIC records.

Anne McGuire: There is no indication that the delay in updating national insurance contributions records has impacted on the number of incapacity benefit claims that have been disallowed.

Benefits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2006 to Question 44203, whether he plans to withhold incapacity benefit from any person deemed unfit for work by their own medical practitioner but who has yet to be examined under the personal capacity assessment arrangements.

Anne McGuire: There are no plans to withhold benefit from a person where the GP has decided that they should refrain from work due to incapacity. Benefit continues to be paid while the GP/Consultant supplies medical evidence and until the Personal Capability Assessment has been applied.

Call Centres

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) national and (b) local targets have been set for call centre performance in pension centres; and what has been the performance against such targets over the last two years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested can be found in The Pension Service Annual Report and Accounts for 2003–04 and 2004–05, which are held in the Library.

Carers Benefit Regulations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the carers' benefit regulations on young carers aged 16–21 years who want to continue in education or begin training.

Anne McGuire: Carer's allowance is an income maintenance benefit for people aged 16 or over who regularly provide at least 35 hours of care per week for a severely disabled person who receives an attendance allowance, or the equivalent rates of the disability living allowance care component or a constant attendance allowance paid under the industrial injuries disablement benefits scheme or the war disablement pension scheme. The allowance is not income-related and entitlement does not depend on the payment of national insurance contributions, but it is not available to people in work who have earnings of more than £82 per week net of a range of allowable expenses. To avoid duplicate provision from public funds, it is not payable when a carer is receiving another non-income-related benefit or a training grant to maintain their income which is paid at the same or higher weekly rate.
	Subject to these entitlement and payment rules, carer's allowance is available to young carers aged 16 to 21 years who undertake training or part-time education. However, it is not available to those in full-time education involving 21 hours or more of supervised study a week. This is because young people aged 16 or over who remain in full-time non-advanced education are regarded as financially dependent on their parents who can receive child benefit and child tax credits, whilst support for those who choose to undertake full-time advanced education is provided by the student support system rather than by social security benefits.

Departmental Recruitment

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job advertisements were placed by his Department (a) in total, (b) in print newspapers and magazines and (c) on a recruitment website in each year since 1997; and at what (i) total and (ii) average cost in each case.

Anne McGuire: This information is not collected centrally in the Department.

Departmental Staff (Time-limited Contracts)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his staff are employed on time limited contracts in each (a) region and (b) country; and what percentage of total staff in each (i) region and (ii) country this represented in the last year for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 25 January 2006
	The number of staff employed by the Department who are employed on time limited (fixed term) contracts in each region and country together with the percentage of total staffing is in the following table.
	
		
			 Region/country Fixed term contract staff Percentage of total staff in region/country 
		
		
			 East Midlands 76 1.3 
			 East of England 98 1.7 
			 London 67 0.6 
			 North East 577 4.6 
			 North West 207 0.9 
			 South East 93 1.2 
			 South West 64 0.9 
			 West Midlands 273 2.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber189 1.5 
			 Scotland 301 2.3 
			 Wales 290 4.3 
			 Total DWP 2,235 1.9 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are full-time equivalent, are point in time as at 30 November 2005 and are consistent with Office for National Statistics definitions.

Disability

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many registered disabled people there were in each quarter since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Estimates based on data from the Family Resources Survey show there are 10.1 million disabled people in Great Britain, including people with limiting longstanding illnesses, of whom 4.6 million people are over State Pension Age and 700,000 are children. Everyone included in these estimates would meet the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act.
	In addition, each local authority is required by law to maintain a register of disabled people living within its area, for the purposes of planning and providing appropriate social services; however, registration is entirely voluntary therefore the information held does not accurately represent the prevalence of disability.
	The available information is in the table.
	
		Number of registered disabled people in Great Britainin the years shown
		
			  Total (million) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1.8 
			 1998–99 1.8 
			 1999–2000 1.9 
			 2000–01 1.8 
			 2001–02 1.7 
			 2002–03 1.7 
			 2003–04 1.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures in the table relate to people registered with local authorities under the National Assistance Act. For the purposes of this Act, disabled people are defined as "persons who are blind, deaf, or dumb, or who suffer from mental disorder of any description, and other persons aged 18 or over who are substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury, or congenital deformity". This definition is separate from that used for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act.
	2. The implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 repealed various sections of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, including sections related to the register of disabled persons.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey

Disability Living Allowance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is his policy to send letters to those on disability living allowance to inform them that, as they have it paid directly to a bank, their pension will now be paid in a similar manner; and what measures have been put in place for those with a visual impairment who are receiving their pension in this way.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Terry Moran
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy to send letters to those on disability living allowance to say that as they have it paid directly to a bank their pension will now be paid in a similar manner rather than by giro; and what measures have been put in place for those with a visual impairment who are receiving their pension in this way.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	As a result of the drive to reduce the number of disability living allowance and attendance allowance customers paid by cheque, an exercise was undertaken to pay disability living allowance and attendance allowance into a bank or building society account already being used for payment of other benefits.
	Following this change a letter is sent to the customer or their representative advising that the way we pay benefits is changing and that we would now pay into the account into which their benefits were already being paid. For customers identified as having a visual impairment this letter would be provided in either large print or Braille.
	I hope this is helpful.

Housing Benefit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in the UK aged under 25 years claiming housing benefit which is insufficient to cover the housing rent they are paying.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested.
	As at May 2004, the most recent available figures, 36,000 claimants in Great Britain who were under 25 years of age received housing benefit at a rate less than their eligible rent.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 664W, on housing benefits, how many claimants he estimates would benefit from raising the standard rate of housing benefit and council tax benefit earned income disregards from £5 per week to £10 per week.

James Plaskitt: The number of claimants who would benefit from raising the standard rate of housing benefit and council tax benefit earned income disregards from £5 to £10 per week is estimated to be 90,000.
	Notes:
	1. The estimate is rounded to the nearest 10,000 and is for Great Britain.
	2. This impact is estimated using the Department's Policy Simulation Model, which is based on data from the 2003–04 Family Resources Survey, uprated to 2005–06 prices, benefit rates and earnings levels, and is calibrated to latest published forecasts on HB recipients with earnings.
	3. Results are subject to sampling and reporting errors and estimation assumptions, and are therefore indicative only. No behavioural changes are assumed.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2006, Official Report, column 590W, on benefits, how many households were (a) made subject to a delayed non-dependant deduction and (b) exempt from the non-dependant deduction regime as a result of the changes introduced in October 2003 following the introduction of the pension credit.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 18 to 29, (ii) 30 to 39, (iii) 40 to 49 and (iv) 50 to 59 years claiming incapacity benefit; and what estimate he has made of the number of males aged 60 to 65 years claiming incapacity benefit.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants by duration and gender: Great Britain, May 2005
		
			  All Female Male 
		
		
			 Total caseload (aged 16 to 65) 2,784,000 1,166,000 1,617,900 
			 All aged 18 to 65 2,749,700 1,142,100 1,607,500 
			 18 to 29 316,000 139,400 176,700 
			 30 to 39 486,000 205,000 281,000 
			 40 to 49 667,000 314,800 352,200 
			 50 to 59 944,400 466,900 477,500 
			 60 to 65 336,300 16,100 320,200 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2. 'Claimant" figures include all IB/SDA claimants, including IB credits only cases.
	Source:
	Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals who would otherwise qualify for incapacity benefit are affected by (a) whole and (b) partial withdrawal of benefit owing to their receipt of an occupational pension; and what the total annual benefit foregone from this clawback was in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: No information is available on the number of incapacity benefit claimants whose entitlement is reduced to nil by virtue of the amount of their occupational pension.
	The information on the numbers and total estimated annual incapacity benefit foregone for those with reduced entitlement by virtue of the amount of their occupational pension is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit claimants whose benefit is reduced by virtue of the amount of occupational pension in payment and associated annual benefit foregone.
		
			  Claimants (Thousand) Annual incapacity benefit foregone (£ millions, 2005–06 prices) 
		
		
			 2001–02 4 5 
			 2002–03 13 17 
			 2003–04 22 29 
			 2004–05 28 39 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and expenditure to the nearest million.
	2. Figures have only been supplied for four years because occupational pensions were first taken into account against incapacity benefit entitlement in April 2001.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data and DWP medium term expenditure tables.

Incapacity Benefit

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women in receipt of incapacity benefit owing to mental health conditions are aged (i) 20 to 29, (ii) 30 to 40, (iii) 41 to 49, (iv) 50 to 60 and (v) 61 to 65 years.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants in Great Britain with a primary diagnosis in the "mental and behavioural disorders" group of diagnoses; August 2005
		
			  All persons Men Women 
		
		
			 All Ages 1,089,100 609,200 479,900 
			 Under 20 21,200 10,700 10,600 
			 20 to 29 168,500 95,700 72,800 
			 30 to 40 289,000 172,000 117,000 
			 41 to 49 261,600 137,600 123,900 
			 50 to 60 293,400 146,900 146,600 
			 61 to 65 46,300 43,000 3,400 
			 Over 65 9,000 3,400 5,700 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2. 'Claimant" figures include all IB and SDA, including IB credits only cases.
	3. All diagnoses are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, published by the World Health Organisation.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of incapacity benefit attended face-to-face medical examinations pursuant to (a) an initial own occupation test and (b) an initial personal capability assessment in each of the last three years; and how many claims were terminated as a result.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available in the form requested.
	The total number of claimants of incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance who were medically examined is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 September to August each year: Examinations 
		
		
			 2002–03 524,894 
			 2003–04 467,256 
			 2004–05 483,084 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Volumes include severe disablement allowance cases which cannot be identified separately.
	2. Figures include initial and subsequent examinations.
	The number of allowance and disallowance decisions given to applicants for incapacity benefit after referral to medical services, including cases where a medical examination was necessary to make a decision, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Incapacity benefit (IB) applicants/ recipients Total IB disallowed Disallowed on personal capability assessment Disallowed on own occupation test Allowed after referral to medical services 
		
		
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 181,680 172,570 9,110 700,305 
			 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 188,740 180,735 8,005 634,760 
			 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 181,995 175,090 6,905 594,335 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures include "Did not attend" and "Failure to return questionnaire'.
	2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
	3. Figures may not correspond to totals due to rounding.
	4. Figures include initial and subsequent examinations.
	Source:
	Figures are from 100 per cent. counts of adjudication decisions entered on the benefit computer system and will exclude a small number of clerically held cases.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many face-to-face medical examinations have been conducted in each of the last three years in relation to claimants who have been in receipt of incapacity benefit for (a) 0 to six months, (b) six to12 months, (c) 12 to 24 months, (d) 24 to 36 months, (e) 36 to 48 months, (f) 48 to 56 months and (g) over 56 months; and how many resulted in the termination of a claim.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available in the form requested. Details of the number of claims which were terminated following application of the Own Occupation Test or the Personal Capability Assessment, by duration of their incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance claim, are set out in the following table.
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB)/severe disablement allowance (SDA) claims terminating following the application of the own occupation test (OOT) or the personal capability assessment (PCA) -- Thousand
		
			   Months 
			  Total Up to six Six to 12 12 to 24 24 to 36 36 to 48 48 to 56 Over 56 
		
		
			 1 September 2002 to 31 August 2003 102.6 25.3 31.2 17.1 10.3 5.8 2.8 10.1 
			 1 September 2003 to 31 August 2004 102.0 22.9 35.5 14.3 10.2 6.4 2.8 9.8 
			 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2005 110.7 22.0 37.1 16.2 12.0 7.0 3.5 12.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are shown in thousands and rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2. "Claimant" figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance (including incapacity benefit credits only cases).
	3. Information is collected quarterly. The figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters.
	4. Information on face-to-face medical examinations is not available from our 5 per cent. samples.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.

Incapacity Benefit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many current incapacity benefit claimants will have reached the aged of 65 years by 31 September 2018.

Anne McGuire: The estimated number of those currently claiming incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance who will have reached the age of 65 years by 31 September 2018 is 1,153,700.

Incapacity Benefit

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be transferred from incapacity benefit to pensions in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: We estimate the number of incapacity benefit claimants (both payment and credits-only cases) that will transfer from claiming incapacity benefit to receiving retirement pension in each of the next 10 years is 60,000.
	Note:
	Estimate is rounded to the nearest 10,000 cases.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer question 31033 from the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South tabled on 21 November 2005.

Anne McGuire: A reply was given to the hon. Member on 14 February 2006, Official Report, column 1948W.

Pension Liabilities

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the net present value of accrued pension liabilities in respect of (a) present and (b) former employees of his Department and its predecessors.

Anne McGuire: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and individual Departments' pension liabilities are not available. The Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts for 2004–05 showed that the total pension liability at 31 March 2005 was £84.1 billion. The value of pension liabilities was assessed as follows:
	Liabilities for current members still contributing to the scheme—£37 billion
	Deferred pensions and contingent pensions for dependants in respect of members no longer contributing—£12.7 billion
	Current pensions for members and contingent pensions for dependants—£34.4 billion
	As a result of a change in the discount rate used for calculating pension liabilities with effect from 1 April 2005, the total pension liability at 1 April 2005 increased by £10.6 billion to £94.7 billion.

Pensions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have taken up the stakeholder pension scheme since its introduction; and how much the average personal and employee contribution is.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 28 October 2005
	2,622,160 stakeholder pensions have been sold in the period 6 April 2001 to 30 September 2005. Average individual contributions to stakeholder pensions in the tax year 2003–04, broken down by status, are in the following table. I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 December to his question (37530) with regard to average annual employer and individual contributions.
	
		
			 Status of individual Average contribution (£) 
		
		
			 Employees 1,290 
			 Self employed 1,990 
			 In receipt of a pension 2,580 
			 Child 1,400 
			 Full-time education 1,700 
			 Carer 2,020 
			 Unemployed 2,280 
			 Other 1,780 
			 Total(37) 1,430 
		
	
	(37) Average annual contribution by individual in the 2003–04 tax year.
	Source:
	Personal and stakeholder pensions. Number of individuals contributing and average contribution by status and earned income. HM Revenue and Customs Table 7.10

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of registered stakeholder pension schemes that have no members.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Based on data from the Employers Pension Provision Survey 2003, which was conducted shortly after the introduction of stakeholder pensions, it is estimated that in 2003:
	(a) some 35 percent. of all companies provided access to stakeholder pension schemes (including companies with fewer than five employees who are not required to provide access to a stakeholder pension), and
	(b) three quarters (75 percent.) of employer designated schemes had no members contributing.

Statutory Sick Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average period of payment of statutory sick pay was for all claimants of statutory sick pay in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Statutory sick pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees unable to work because of short-term sickness. The SSP scheme is administered and paid for by employers, who have a statutory liability to pay SSP for up to 28 weeks to any employee incapable of work under their contract of service for four or more days in a row and who satisfy the qualifying conditions.
	Information regarding the average length of payment of SSP is not available as it is not collected centrally.

Sunbeds

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all local authorities in England have received guidance from the Health and Safety Executive regarding the inspection of sunbed tanning retail outlets.

Anne McGuire: No. Inspection guidance has not been formally issued by HSE to local authorities. Relevant Industry guidance (INDG209) however is available on the HSE website and has been cited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Officers in their tool kit for skin care, published in 2004.

Sunbeds

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many accidents involving sunbeds were reported to local authorities in England in each year since 1995.

Anne McGuire: Information in the form requested is not held by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Reports to local authorities about accidents are made under the same regulations and reporting system as those made to HSE. The information recorded does not include codes for specific pieces of equipment such as sunbeds or tanning facilities.
	It would only be possible to identify accidents at such facilities through an incident by incident analysis of the descriptions provided by notifiers. This would require a disproportionate diversion of resources.

Sunbeds

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with local authorities in England regarding the operation of sunbed tanning facilities in local authority leisure centres; and what representations has he received from local authorities regarding health issues associated with their use.

Anne McGuire: Neither I nor the Health and Safety Executive have not received any representations from local authorities regarding health issues associated with sunbed use within their leisure centres.
	No discussions have been held with the local authority sector as a whole on this matter.